By Hana Tobias
Speaking to a man he met in jail who dropped out of elementary school, Archie Andrews from Riverdale asserts, “You haven’t known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows, of high school football.” Yes, this exchange actually occurred in a popular, decently successful tv show (although it really went off the rails after the first season). I didn’t believe it at first either. But that’s not the point. Archie’s statement, although he focuses it on football, really can be applied to the place where I spent the last four years of my life: high school.
The best parts of high school were certainly, as Archie says, “epic.” The school volleyball team competed at a high level every year, culminating in us becoming league champions this year. I worked on The Shield, surrounded by friends and guided by Andy Evans, who even managed to make English entertaining! Arriving at school and finding that we would be creating puppet shows or having a blind taste test (where I almost threw up) made school much more exciting. I enjoyed my calculus and physics classes (guys, math is actually really fun). Moreover, I found a brief respite from the stresses of school by taking art classes and later by taking an off period, which I highly recommend. I know I’ll always treasure these experiences when I’m reminiscing in college and beyond (although hopefully not in jail like Archie).
Westmont was not without its rocky parts (like the entirety of my junior year). If any sophomores are reading this, I’m sorry, and good luck. There were extensive amounts of boredom, tears, worries, and embarrassments, but I guess all of it was probably for character development—something that Riverdale lacks. High school definitely managed to squeeze in a lot of emotional turmoil. But overall, the epic highs probably trumped the lows, and the real football was the friends we made along the way.
Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about school ending early. Yes, I’m sad that I’ll never have a prom, and I certainly wish I could’ve completed my time in journalism with the color issue, but looking back on high school, I accomplished most of my goals and made some fantastic memories. Now, I’m ready to move on, just as the Riverdale writers should move on to find new jobs.