Three years ago, in August, I was angry. No, it was not because I had to go to school- it was because I could not. A hurricane had delayed my start to a new school, with new friends, once again. Alas, it took a whole week before we could start.

This seemed like an apt start for the class of 2015. The start of our time together as sisters of pink and orange was just like the next four years- it was not the way things were normally done. It was not abnormal, not in the way that abnormal gives a bad connotation. It was just different.

The next four years progressed, and it was obvious that we would never have a normal class. We had our difficulties, as does any group that large. However, we also started new chapters here at NDP that created change for the better. As freshmen, we won Penny Queen. As sophomores, we shocked everyone with incredible aerobics routines. As juniors, we received our rings and put on our Marti Gras beads to transform into upperclassmen. Finally, as seniors, we strengthened the bond that will carry us into college and beyond.

My journey with my 149 sisters made me strong and courageous in a way that I had never been before. I was never the most outgoing person, but when I put on a blue dress and white saddle shoes, it was like an imaginary pep talk from my best friends. Through the support of the Music Department and the Humanities team, I learned how to teach others, and to be taught myself. I opened my mind, my heart, and my soul. I became a new person, and I grew in every way possible- well, maybe not in height, but in every other way!

With fifteen school days until graduation, I am beginning to think about everything that has happened during the last four years of my life. Although life isn’t always easy, it’s been proven to me time and time again that these days have been the best of my life. After all, what other school would I have been able to have dance parties in the cafeteria every other week?