In 9th or 10th grade — normal school feels so long ago now — I was walking up a staircase after lunch and a muffin in a bag fell on my head. I have no explanation besides, well, Dirty Dice baby! I also do not have any big revelation about how this incident represents Allderdice as a whole. Rather, I think Allderdice is layered and contradictory, and every little moment adds up to a hilarious, complicated, and worthwhile high school experience. 

This, I believe, is where the Foreword comes in. As the student newspaper of Allderdice, we aim to tell the story of a school that feels different to each and every person who interacts with it. No Allderdice student experiences our school, city, and country in the same way, so the Foreword hosts a diverse range of articles that reflect what it means to be a Dragon in this moment. 

We’re by no means perfect; deadlines are missed more often than they’re met, and grammar is, uh, not one of our priorities. Still, I think we succeed when it comes to what really matters: recording a broad account of what Allderdice is. I’m really proud to have been a part of the journalism community at Allderdice for four years — years that were riddled with a lot of hardship. 

We lived under the most oppressive White House administration of our lifetimes. We spoke out as the ever-present abuse of people of color by law enforcement reached new heights in the public eye. We lost three schoolmates, two of them to gun violence. We took part in countless active shooter drills and experienced the aftermath of a hate crime massacre just blocks away. We had to navigate a whole new life as the pandemic snatched away what little stability we had. The segregated and often impersonal Allderdice environment certainly didn’t help. All of this in just four years, with many students experiencing poverty, racism, and other hardships as well. In other words: it’s been a weird time to come of age.

Clearly, we’ve experienced a lot of tragedy and trauma and all of us are a little bit broken because of it. Our high school years have shaped us for good and for bad, and now it’s up to us to use the experiences we’ve had in this stage of our lives as catalysts to create a world where human rights are guaranteed and equity is more than a buzzword. If my time with the editors and writers of the Foreword is any indication, our generation is full of passionate, driven, creative people who are committed to doing just that. 

I gave a lot of my time to the Foreword, but the Foreword gave me even more in return; the newsroom offers occupants a unique perspective of the world. Writing and editing are opportunities to process our chaotic reality and ultimately try to create a better vision for the future. Simply put, I learned more under the string lights of room 212 than in any other class at Allderdice. 

Being a part of the Foreword team was truly a joyful challenge. I feel lucky that for the past four years, the story of my life intersected with the story of Allderdice, and that I could take a shot at recording it through journalism.