It’s been a hectic four years here at AHS, but I found refuge in the eye of the storm: Pow Wow. From a newbie staff writer to a seasoned Editor-in-Chief, I’ve grown so much, with this program aiding me in every step. In no particular order, these moments, no matter how small or large, have invariably made me into the person I am today.

5. I almost didn’t make it into Pow Wow. My general applicant interview was embarrassing to say the least, and I somehow ended up saying that I would resort to brute force if communication among group members was ineffective. (This is absolutely not the case! I tend to word vomit when I’m nervous.) The EICs back then saw enough potential in me to kindly accept me into the program though, and the rest is history.

4. My insatiable need to be the best in everything led me to somehow sell 28 (you read that right!) boxes of candy apples in one week during Pow Wow‘s biannual candy apple fundraiser. That’s 672 candy apples in ONE WEEK! It was no walk in the park; it actually took a lot of coordination among my friends and taught me to take only what I could handle.

3. My first ever Window Wars was sort of an absolute, unabashed mess. The Pow Wow freshies were not on the same page, and one student accidentally called me a nuke. Needless to say, I did not take it well. Words were exchanged and I found myself with a new enemy; but no worries! Now we are friends and I have learned to control my impulsiveness in a far more graceful manner.

2. Last February, my co-Opinion editor Amber and I spent literal hours trying to figure out how to express an article in a visually appealing way without inciting the wrath of the text wrap function. A little snippet of what happened back then: “Amber. Text wrap hates me. I’m about to smash my face into the keyboard.” A brief pause. “Julia. You can’t just keyboard smash your face, it’ll ruin the page.”

1. During our annual leadership meeting, my co-EICs and I whipped out the greatest skit of all time. (My mannequin head from Sally’s Beauty Supply was involved, just in case you were wondering.) I played the part of Jumbo Shrimp, an aspiring Pow Wow applicant who teaches interviewers Amberger and Kupkake the importance of open mindedness.

With my experiences in Pow Wow, I’ve seen the program change before my very own eyes, and I know that it will continue to flourish in the hands of next year’s staff. I hope that Pow Wow will inspire and bring joy to others as it has for me; thank you, Pow Wow, for making my high school career one to remember.