I pray to God that whoever said, “high school is the best four years of your life,” was wrong. Here’s the thing, high school should never be the best four years of anyone’s life. Yes, the memories we made and the awards we won were great. The dedication to academics and learning were unparalleled. Or is it un-perpendicular? I don’t know, my average math grade over four years was a C-. The point is, we are all destined to do greater things than sit in a classroom. Some of us will become doctors who discover ground-breaking cures for horrible diseases; others will be successful business executives or attorneys who stand up for the rights of those who cannot stand up for themselves. No matter where we go in life, we will all (hopefully) hold onto valuable lessons learned in the halls of Xavier. 1.) It’s okay to stand up for your opinion, even if people try to shut it down. There are some people who have problems with other people’s opinion. Embrace it and embrace them, because that’s the only way to move forward. 2.) There are some things in life that aren’t worth complaining about, such as a Catholic school teaching Catholic doctrine (shocking, isn’t it?). 3.) Don’t say one thing and mean another. Don’t try to tell me you hate drama but are in the middle of drama every other day. 4.) Be honest. Odds are I’m not going to be mad at you for doing something, but if you lie to me about it, I’m going to be upset. 5.) It sounds cliche, but trust God. You are here at this place, at this moment, for a reason. Trust that He will help you find that reason while you develop the gifts He gave you.

Underclassmen: embrace what you have left of the roller coaster called high school. You’re not going to love it at (most) times, but embrace the lessons you will learn.

Class of 2017: we did it. Our time here is done; we’ve learned all we are going to learn in high school. I challenge us to take those lessons and knowledge with us as we go, and use them to make the world a better place. Look fondly on our time here, but never think these were the best four years of our lives. Those years are yet to come.

Jeff Daubitz

News Editor