Hi, my name is Makayla Monreal and I’m a senior here at Agua Fria and this is the last time you will read my beautiful writing.

What a ride it’s been for me at Agua Fria High School. Freshman year was, to say the least, not my favorite year. A bunch of bad outfits was worn, the way I acted was just so cringy, and I regret a lot of things. Despite that, the friends I made that year are some of my lifelong friends that even after high school we could never separate.

One of the most memorable moments of freshman year was when we went on lockdown because of bees. It was really just so random and I remember just laughing with my friends. We even made a YouTube video during the lockdown because we were so bored. 

I also remember the first day of freshman year during freshman orientation and thinking, “Why is everyone here so enthusiastic about the first day of school?” Not to mention, it was like a thousand degrees and they had us walking around school while almost having a heatstroke.

Now moving on from a bad but kinda good year, we go to sophomore year, one of my favorite years, but not really academically. Almost every day I was laughing so hard with my friends and just having a good time. 

When it came to actually doing work I was really unmotivated and I didn’t really care about my school work. Needless to say, I was lazy and I know I gave most of my teachers a hard time. Luckily, towards the middle of the second semester, I pulled through and started actually caring and becoming motivated to do my work.

One of the teachers I have to thank for that is Mr. Jovanelly. He really motivated me to do my work, study, and actually listen in his class. Geometry was really tough for me since I had such a hard time understanding, but having Mr. Jovanelly explain a topic to me more than two times really helped me a lot because he found a way to explain it in a way I understood.

Sophmore year was the first year I did soccer and I still can’t believe I even tried out. Soccer was really mentally draining, but I enjoyed the fun bus rides that came with it and the friends I made. After soccer, I had softball which I also did freshman year, but sophomore year softball was different because we could only play one game because the most horrible thing happened: THE PANDEMIC.

Towards the end of sophomore year when the school said we would have two weeks off instead of one for Spring Break I was so excited. I could barely believe it, I was jumping up and down telling my whole family I’m gonna have an extra week off. 

Then, quarantine kept going. I was like, “Okay guys, the joke is over, when are we going back to school?” Like, I actually wanted to go back, which says a lot.

Then the challenges came with learning online for the entirety of junior year. While my junior year was mainly spent at home, I was still able to do the things I love like soccer and softball. During that point, I was tired of staying home and I was really tired of my family and I wanted to see new faces. 

Learning online was difficult because I’m not a good visual learner. I’m more of a hands-on learner, so not actually being there in the classroom was hard for me. 

Junior year I really slacked off. I was a really big procrastinator and would do my assignments last minute. It’s a bad habit that I’m trying to break which is hard since I feel like my best work comes from the extra pressure of a close deadline. I would sleep during Zoom lessons or I would just go on my phone and ignore the teacher because my attention span didn’t last that long.

I think the biggest challenge for me was that Zoom school just felt like an option, so I wouldn’t go to class. I would skip the first few classes then maybe check-in for one or two lessons then skip the rest of the day. 

Needless to say, my junior year was just not it and I don’t miss it. However, it did make me mentally stronger and I developed a lot of grit, which I appreciate.

Moving on to one of the scariest, most stressful, and biggest years of my education life. 

In the beginning, I was really scared to start my senior year. I was terrified to graduate and actually do things on my own as an adult. Now that I’m towards the end of the year, I’m not as worried as I had been. I realized that graduating is just another step I have to take, another obstacle to overcome.  

This year I really pushed myself to be the best I could be. I was actually on top of my grades so this year has definitely been the best by far academically.

As always, I’ve made many amazing memories that I will cherish forever. Weirdly, these memories feel a little different, almost like I’m leaving them behind in a way. I think it feels this way because I’m moving on to a different chapter in my life and I’m becoming an adult. I’m not a kid anymore, although I really am still a kid because let’s be fair, you’re a kid until your early 20s.

Anyway, though senior year has treated me good and I definitely had fun in my classes and enjoyed a couple of them — just not pre-calc because it was really stressful and hard, but the class was cool and we clapped every five minutes. I’ve definitely grown into a more mature person during my senior year and I think I’m prepared for the next chapter in my life. 

I appreciate everything Agua Fria and the teachers have given me. Thank you, and I hope for the best for my underclassmen and their futures, as well as the teachers. They are really the backbone of the school. 

So thank you once again. Goodbye.