Before arriving as a freshman, I thought I had figured out what I wanted to do with my life.

Since forever I have loved writing and I loved stories, and while both are still true and they continue to be hobbies of mine, I quickly found that writing wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Writing is sort of a release for me, and I felt that if I had to do it after a while it would become more like a chore rather than something I enjoyed.

So, I waded through my first year at North, feeling utterly lost in terms of what I wanted to strive for in life. I had okay grades, and I liked most of my teachers, but it was just school.

It was a part of my tedious routine every day and nothing else. That was when a group of students from journalism came into one of my classes one day and talked about the course.

While most people around me zoned out, not paying attention with one eye on the clock, I already knew I wanted to sign up for it. Joining my sophomore year was like being able to breathe, and I got to write with more freedom than usual while still being confined to topics based on the type of article I was attempting that month.

While I loved the class and I made friends in it, I still knew that writing wasn’t what I wanted to do. I don’t have the personality needed to make journalism into a career.

I initially joined to force myself into uncomfortable social situations.

In my time at North, due to my indecision and deciding to ask my family about it, I managed to narrow down some things about me. I always had a penchant for remembering random subjects that interest me down to the last detail about things I haven’t watched or read in years.

I can talk about history, mythology and civilizations and never get bored. I do not think I ever could really.

So, I’ve decided to major in history with a teaching license and minor in anthropology. Later, I plan to go back for my master’s and Ph.D.

Sometimes it feels like my entire being is coiled around those two things. And, I owe my figuring that out, in part, to North.

I spent the majority of my high school career finding out what I want. It all goes back to North and how the situations I found myself in here made me look inside and draw out what I wanted in life.

In short, this is basically a thank you as well as a goodbye. I don’t know who’d I’d be now otherwise.