Salut! That’s French for “hello” and “goodbye.” I could have said Aloha, I feel like that’s more known to the general public. Anyway, it’s clever because now I—Leila Harper, that’s my name I forgot to mention—am a senior, meaning my descent into madness is pretty much complete as an anxious perfectionist in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

I have been writing for The Armijo Signal since my freshman year when fate handed me the Journalism elective and I found out that I really enjoy writing articles. Throughout these years, it has given me the ability to find my voice and to be more aware of my community, in school and out. I have done book and movie reviews, previews and reviews of school events, profiles on teachers and classes and clubs (oh my), and informative pieces on different topics. If there’s a category on the home page, chances are I’ve written about it.

Now that I’m a senior citizen, I can give wise advice for anyone wondering what it’s like working for the school paper. For me, it has always been a liberating experience to have this responsibility, as well as being able to have the freedom to write with my own voice. Time-management is very important, especially when you have other classes threatening your free time. It can be hard sometimes to prioritize things, but in the end, it’s worth it to have accomplished everything you needed to do. I think the final thing to mention is the importance of writing about what you are interested in. Having this platform to speak about topics you care about is an amazing opportunity that I am so happy to have had. I think that’s kind of the gist of everything, really.

I can’t praise my experiences enough. I guess this is my final message: change the world. This is one chance to explore who you are and what you can do at a time.