I have been thinking a lot about endings lately. As a senior, my final weeks at Allderdice were weeks of “lasts.” My last full day of school, my last half day of school, my last time making the long trek from the gym to the fourth floor, my last lunch in the Allderdice lunchroom, my last assignment, my last test, my last final, and my last days with my friends. And yes, my last day as the Editor-in-Chief of The Foreword. 

As I sit down to write the quintessential “Farewell from the Editor-in-Chief,” Mr. Parker, The Foreword sponsor, is taking down the twinkle lights in our beloved Room 212.  Next year, The Foreword will find its home in a new classroom. Yet another, “last.” 

Right now, my heart is breaking, just a little. Saying goodbye is so hard because The Foreword is so special. Mr. Parker, my co-editors, and the staff, are a part of my chosen family. The Foreword is a place to work through difficult problems, to push oneself, to both give and get advice, and to find joy. I am a better person because of The Foreword. As a student, that is all one can ask for. As a human being, that is all one can ask for. 

Allderdice is complicated. Attempting to tell the nuanced story of a place that has been my home for the last four years has been a daunting, extraordinary, and rewarding challenge. 

If The Foreword has taught me anything, it is that knowledge gives us the power to do good. As the daughter of a history teacher, I know that at every moment in history, there were those who desperately needed protection from persecution. This moment, too, feels particularly desperate. We are faced with great fights: to ensure our safety from weapons of war, to guarantee bodily autonomy, to protect minority communities from alienation and violence, and to safeguard democracy, at home and abroad. We are faced with the question of “Who do we want to be?”

Conscious of the current dangers, I am cautiously optimistic because I also know that in history’s darkest hours, in different times and different worlds, there were people who stood up, who spoke out, and who refused to give in, putting their lives on the line to fight for justice and to protect others. 

The Foreword calls on each of us to be those people.

As I hand off the paper to the next staff, I am filled with joy that they, too, will get to add their iteration to the institution that is The Foreword. For me, today is a “last.” But for the incoming staff, today is a beginning. It will be a time of new traditions and new memories. In a different classroom—but under the same twinkle lights—the staff will write, discuss, laugh, debate, read, learn, and grow immeasurably. I will be cheering them on from the sidelines every step of the way.