To Mama, for making every living moment special

From doing endless Christmas shopping for your five children, husband, and more, to bringing me and Kylie to concerts of artists you haven’t even heard of, to coming to almost all of my performances in the play, you have made sure that I and all my siblings feel special. You are the most boisterous, beautiful person I know, and every time someone says I remind them if you, I feel proud. Thank you for all your advice and your reminders to always be kind. I am so grateful to have the best mom in the world. I love you so much.

To Dad, for being my provider, my protector, and my Dad

Though it feels weird to thank my dad for being a good Dad, every sad story you’ve shown me makes me feel so lucky that my dad is someone who loves me, someone who supports and protects all of his five children. I love reading with you and talking about my future. I’m honored that you send me X posts you find interesting (even if I don’t look at them half the time). I love you, Dad. 

To my siblings, for fun and games

It feels like just yesterday when we lived in Alabama, and Dad’s back was healthy enough to have our weekly wrestling matches in the living room. Now, the playboxing gloves are much too small for me, and we are all (almost) the same size. That being said, I’m grateful for every wrestling match even if we all get tired a lot earlier than usual. I love every round of Jackbox and every game of Pickle in the backyard. 

Caden, you have shown me what it means to be a good leader, a good example, and a good boyfriend. I have set high standards for myself and any future relationship by seeing your relationship with Kylie. I’m so proud of you for being basketball captain, and it’s so crazy to think you’re graduating this year. Will, you are such a kind, sweet kid, and I hope you stay that way for the rest of your life. Ruthie, you’re the sweetest person I’ve ever known. Thank you for your love and patience, especially when it comes to cleaning our room. Asher, you are the cutest kid ever. It feels like yesterday when you were two, and I was begging Mom and Dad for a sister to even the boy-girl score. Now you’re ten years old, double digits. Even when you grow up, even when you’re taller than me, you will always be my baby brother. I love all of you so much.

To my extended family, for always showing your support

Although the “Williams Family Thread” and “Mcclarty (version 2.3)” group chats may feel bothersome during the school day, I am forever grateful for every message, every good luck wish, and every prayer in those group threads. Thank you all for coming to support me in all my shows and reading all my TCT stories. Thank you, Marnie, for making dresses with me, and thank you, Grandpa, for all the books you’ve given me. Thank you, Nana and Pops, for flying to Michigan to come see us. Thank you, Blake and Haley, for occasional dinners with me and Caden, and thanks, Haley, for every chasmic clothing haul. 

To Isla Magers, for making time for me

I don’t think we’ve had a class together since eighth-grade choir. I miss you so much, but I am forever grateful for every hallway high-five and pre-third-hour chat. Though I miss seeing you at the end of every day, I am so happy that we’ve grown up together. It’s crazy that the crowded bus seats to Goodwillie have turned into the heated seats of our cars. I’m so proud of you, and I’m so happy we will have physics together next semester!

To Josie Luyckx, for your easy laugh and easier smile

I don’t know a single person in the world who would say they don’t like Josie Luyckx. I am so grateful for every chat we have in my car or any brief moment we have walking in the hallways, even if they are few and far between. Every aspect of your life looks like a twee-downtown girl Pinterest board, and I’m so thankful to have such a beautiful and talented friend in my life. Thank you for all your advice, and I hope you’ll take mine, too. 

To Anna, for making French fun again

Though I am starting to hate the constant barrage of vocab and verb conjugation over and over again, having you behind me every morning has been a blessing. Every time Madame says something funny or someone says something odd, I know I can look at you, and you’ll be smiling right back at me. You are such a talented, smart person, and I’m so grateful for our friendship. Love you lots!

To Ella Peirce, for being my friend

Ever since I discovered who you were in freshman year, you have always intimidated me. Cool people intimidate me. Every cool column you wrote with its cool collage, your cool Ted Talk in your cool dress—it all impressed me. And made me deathly scared you wouldn’t like me. The very first day, when you greeted me and we talked about Community, I knew we would get along. You are the funniest person I know, and I’m so grateful I get to see your awesome smile every day. Thank you for every weird Instagram reel you send me. Thank you for starring on almost all of my spam posts. As I have said before, you are such a main character, and I am so blessed to grace the pages of your book of life.

To Kathryn… I miss you.

Too often, I happen upon a TikTok reminiscing the simpler times of middle school, when A’s were easy, and friendships were easier. Every day, I want to go back to early eighth grade, when we all sat at the same lunch table, and Manifest Destiny seemed far simpler than it is now. I miss the times before that, when I first moved to Michigan and we would rollerblade throughout the neighborhood. When times were simpler, and we could eat popsicles and sing songs about mulch and rocks and make stupid iMovies and not think for a second about… well, anything really. I’m sorry we’ve grown apart since middle school, but I am forever grateful to TCT for bringing us back together. Thank you for coming to see the shows I’m in and always being willing to first or copy-edit my late stories. You are such a smart, talented person, and I know I have done well if my writing is half as good as yours. Love you lots!

To Audrey VanSkyver, for being the Tweedle Dum to My Tweedle Dee, the Galinda to my Elphaba, the Whizzer to my Marvin

I never thought sending you a couple of photos of Spelling Bee sheet music would evolve into the awesome friendship we have now. In fact, when you first texted, “U wanna ft queen!!!! / I luv u and wanna talk to u!” (yes, I scrolled that far), I was a little confused—if not skeptical. 

During freshman year, the theater community was intimidating. It seemed everyone else was friends except for me—and you were willing to extend that olive branch. I am so insanely grateful for every hug, every joke, every random TikTok you accompany with “Tony night??” Facetiming and overheating my mom’s computer by playing Dress to Impress or Ancient Egypt Roleplay with you all this summer has been a blast. I love every musical recommendation you give me, every slushy we drink until we freeze our brains (pun intended), and every Feastable rating on my Snapchat story. You are one of the most vibrant, carefree people I’ve ever known, and I’m so excited for the next two years of theater and fun. Thank you for making the auditorium my favorite place to be and for being my favorite person to be there with.

To Addie McDowell, I love you

Here I go again, writing your section. Again. Unfortunately, a semester and a summer away from the SNO Dashboard has made me less than consistent at hitting “Save Draft/Save as Pending” at the end of every three AM writing spree. Fortunately, yours was one of the only sections I had to rewrite, and that is the first thing I am grateful for—because I will never stop raving about all the things I love about you.

I love your catchphrases. Every time I send a text to you, whether rambling about something embarrassing I did or another Community reference Aiden didn’t get, I know you’ll respond with, “oh that’s awkward”. Despite all the times I’ve made fun of you for the niche statement, I love how your sarcastic, quirky humor shines through three uncapitalized and unpunctuated words on a grey bubble. I love that the phrase has seeped into my texting vernacular as well. I love your laugh and your smile. I love every brief conversation in the hallway or in TCT, where we can interlock fingers for a moment and giggle at something stupid before I have to leave. I love disturbing you with the “Notify Anyway” feature on your ever-present “Do not disturb.” I love every group chat we’ve made together and the random Notes App lists. I love you so much, Addie.

To Paul E (or Paulie Erickson), for being the epitome of “😎”

How can I even begin to explain how cool you are? Every time I talk to you, I thank myself for the random instinct to text you last May. Since then, I feel like our elementary school friendship has been given a new light.

It impresses me so much how many hard classes you take, and I am so grateful that you can explain hard concepts to me. I love the barrage of TikToks, Instagram Reels, and Richard De Gagne Posts I wake up to and get to scroll through after a long, hard day of school and rehearsal. I love competing to be the first like on Cam Post Pics when Cam posts pics. I hate losing every time. I love how I don’t have to mask my love for Messages thought bubbles, exclamation points, and brain rot vernacular while texting you. Thank you for every inside joke, Community reference, and round of Game Pigeon. You truly are just a chill guy, and I love chilling with you.

To Aiden Verwolf, for being the easiest person to talk to ever

Ever since walking together for the entire fourth grade Ranger Walk, I felt like we’ve just clicked. After years of separation from Goodwillie, middle school classes, and the general road of life, I’m glad we’ve become friends again. I missed every crappy short story we’d share and leave comments on and our silly “Genius Hour” inventions. But mostly, I just missed the Greek Geeks. I missed your relentless sarcastic humor and laid-back attitude.

That being said, thank you for showing me how to be laid back; thank you for “Type B-ing” (some of) my worries away. Thank you for the late-night yap sessions and every Instagram reel you send. I love hearing every detail about Lord of the Rings. Mostly I love it when people are passionate about things and passionate enough to yap and send reels to their friends about it. Thank you for listening to my drawn-out Community rants, even if they aren’t canon at all. I’m so glad you joined the cast for theater this year (even if it was just to be closer to Jake Barnes), and I’m so excited to do it with you for another two and a half years.

To Theater (Theatre??) for making the school week something I look forward to

It’s crazy to think how many people I’ve met or gotten closer to because of theater. It’s really exemplified in all the pictures above in costume or in the auditorium. How grateful I am to this extracurricular for helping me befriend some of the funniest, kindest, and craziest people on earth.

At the very beginning of the school year, the future of the fall play looked grim. No one seemed to be willing to be the director, and I was devastated that the extracurricular I looked forward to most might not even be happening. That being said, I’m so grateful for all the work Mr. Destefano and Miss Dykstra did to get someone to be our director.

Thank you, Mr. Williams, for stepping into that leadership role on such short notice. We would not have pulled it together without you, especially the remarkable costumes that you searched and scavenged to find.

Thank you to all the seniors for not giving up on the show. You all have been through so much hardship with theater in the past, and I’m so grateful that you stuck through these stressful five weeks and made Alice in Wonderland truly come to life. Thank you, Alex Fletcher, for your humor and positive attitude. Every hilarious moment behind the curtain is punctuated by one of your famous cackles and/or infamous burps. Thank you, Toby, for being such a talented and innovative scene partner. I know you had some misgivings about the show near the beginning, but I’m glad you stuck it out and made our scenes some of the most enjoyable to watch and to be in. Thank you, Sully, Keegan, and Jake, for more of the most fun scenes I’ve ever done. You three are some of the funniest people I know, and your relentless humor came to life in Alice in Wonderland. Thank you, Cam, for the fun TikToks and laughs during mic check. You are such a trooper for stepping up into your role at the last minute. Thanks, Charlie and Audrey, for the fun scenes (and all the bruises on my legs). Both of your improvised bits in all three scenes were so fun. Thank you, Aiden and Paul E, for being the best duo ever. I’m so glad we’ve become friends again after being separated by Goodwillie (holy throwback!). Thank you, Eva, Leah, and Aundrea, for making the girls’ dressing room a fun place, even if I was only there briefly. Thank you, Max, for understanding every brain rot reference I make.

Thank you, Addie (again), for being you. Every fleeting moment I had backstage, I spent looking for you. You have such sweet and contagious energy; I nor anyone else can help but smile when you’re around. I love you so much! Thank you, Abby and Yahvi, for being awesome crew heads, especially as sophomores. Both of you put so much effort into this, and it shows in the awesome set and props! Most of all, Thank you, Alex Smith, for being there for me. You were so dedicated to this stressful show, and with your leadership, it really came together. I’m so grateful for every trip to Forest Hills Foods, every backstage giggle and knowing glance. You are such a talented leader, and I’m so excited to see what you will do with this skill. SO proud of you!

Lastly, thank you, Quizlet Plus, for helping me learn all my lines in about a week. And thanks, Mom, for buying it for me!

To my teachers, for motivating me

I have always liked school, but as days turned into weeks and short stories turned into long essays, it became a challenge to learn. That being said, I am so grateful for all of my teachers who have helped me learn.

Thank you, Mr. Riley, for prioritizing your students’ sleep. I am especially grateful for the many extensions and pushed-back quizzes due to the many theater participants taking APUSH. Though many of your students don’t recognize it through the rigor of your classes, you truly are a great teacher, and I’m so happy I got to have you for this class. Thank you, Miss Beckett, for making me think. I love talking to you about literature and social opinions. You are such an inspirational role model. Thank you, Mme. Vanhouten, for your kindness and understanding. Thank you, Mr. Garbowitz, for your awesome teaching style. Rarely have I found a math teacher who goes the right pace and is really funny. Better yet, you’re also really funny. Did I mention you’re really funny? Thanks, Mr. Vandenburg, for always having a funny story to tell. Your dad was such an influential person in my mother’s high school life, and it’s truly a wonder to see you do the same for students now. Thank you, Miss Dykstra, for having a listening ear (on the off chance I can catch you in your classroom and alone). I was so sad that we couldn’t do Alice together, but I’m glad that you’re doing the musical. Love you lots!

All of my teachers are what make me want to become a teacher. I want to be a motivator; I want to be the person to turn a kid’s life around. To give their writing meaning. To help them finally understand their Deltamath and set them up for success in the wide world, like all of you.

To sixth hour TCT, for yanking me out of my (thin) shell

I spent the entirety of my WFP freshman year between Addie and Kathryn, right next to the venerated cardboard cutout of Leonardo DiCaprio. We became friends by default, and I am forever grateful for their friendship and help. When we got our schedules for this year and ended up being in two different hours, I was scared. I would have to complete the process of warming up to people again.

I walked into room 216, thinking I would have to cling onto Rowan and Alex, the only two people I had any previous connection with—at least for the first few months. The kindness of every person in that room quickly surprised me. I have connected with every person in that room so well in such a short amount of time, and I am so grateful for that.

Thank you, sixth hour, for the endless tea time in the side room and weekly BuzzFeed quiz parties. Thank you, Addie W and Ella, for getting every Community reference and getting me to try new shows (and Fiona Apple!) You two are such a dynamic duo, and I look forward to seeing you in sixth hour every day. Ellerie, you are the sweetest person I’ve ever met; every person I’ve ever spoken to about you says the same. Thank you, Rowan, for always laughing at my jokes even when they’re not funny (especially when they’re not funny). Thanks again to Alex Smith,

for your amazing leadership and kindness.

This class is my favorite part of the day. I’m forever grateful for every hug, every laugh, and side-room chat, and I’m so excited to share that love with the rest of the class next semester. 

To the Georges, for giving my writing meaning

Thank you, Mr. George (bald), for last year. As devastating as your retirement announcement was, everyone has to retire at some point, even if they are beloved. Though I understand why you had to leave, I think I will always miss the impact that you made on my educational career. I miss your couches; I miss room 139. I miss Leonardo Dicaprio (one day, Mr. Fisher, he will disappear from your side room, and I will plead the fifth until I die). But mostly, I miss you. Thank you for everything, and I’m so looking forward to your college essay seminar in two years.

Thank you, Mr. George (junior), for stepping up. As previously stated, George Sr’s retirement announcement was a harsh blow. You were a saving grace amidst the chaos, even if you were only able to save one of your dad’s cushioned chairs. I’m so happy that you were able to come back to this school and reunite with some of your teachers. Thank you for coming to the play, which made me so behind in all my stories, and for supporting me every day. You have such a positive, friendly relationship with every one of your students. I’m sure every one of your students, basketball players, and I are grateful for every fist bump as we pass or enter your door.

Last but certainly not least, thank you to Beyoncé for being an inspiration. Every column I’ve ever written has been completely dedicated to you.