My Greatest Achievements

Before I start this article, I just wanted to dedicate it to my grandpa and my abuelitos:

Gracias por todo lo que han hecho por mí, les mando un abrazo hasta el cielo.

I have gone through so many different things here at Brooks. Now I won’t go into detail because there is too much that I want to talk about and if I actually named everything this article would be about 10 pages long. Without further ado, here are my greatest achievements here at Brooks.

My friends

Brooks was my second chance at making lifelong friends, and I’m glad I ended up with an amazing group of them. I would name all of them individually, but that would just take way too long. So instead, I want to thank the ones who have helped me through my roughest moments.

Peyton

God where do I even start? We became friends during a BALM meeting because we didn’t have anyone to talk to that day. I will forever be grateful for you making me laugh on a day when I felt like complete shit. Ever since that day, we’ve been attached at the hip. You have also helped me through a lot of struggles that I’ve faced because you made sure that I was ok. You always checked up on me whenever I was in a bad mood and you made sure to cheer me up in any way you could. I also just want to thank you for putting up with my F1 addiction and hearing about that plus “my four husbands” each day. You truly were the best.

Angel and Allyse

Yes, you two are together because I feel like some of my best moments this year were with you guys. I absolutely love our lunch talks and catching each other up on any drama that we had in our lives. You guys have helped me through a few different problems, although they weren’t major, you guys always gave the best advice. Now for the individual parts. To the best fashionista that this school has ever seen, thank you for cheering me up with all your little comments on how people are acting today and why you’re annoyed. To my favorite bookworm, thank you for everything. Thank you for the “amazing” advice you gave me and for our random rants about JD from Heathers. You have truly shown me what a real friend is and how they should act. (Not saying that any of my friends are horrible people but Allyse is the perfect example of a great bestie).

Jayden

I know that we literally only met this year, but it honestly feels like forever. We messed around all the time in research, and I’m honestly shocked that Carstensen never yelled at us. Even though we never really check up on each other, we make sure to know our boundaries when it comes to our banter. I know that I’ve never said it, but thank you for being such a great friend.

Christian W

I just want to say thank you for putting up with me since last year. I remember that we only met because out of a whole group, I was the only one that you didn’t offer fruit snacks to just because you didn’t know me. But from that day on, we have become such great friends. Out of every single person I know, you are the only one who listens to me talk about F1 while also making fun of me for it. Thank you for being such a great friend during my time here at Brooks.

Mikayla

Thank you for being such a kind and sweet person. You have shown to everyone that it is possible to look insanely cute every day and walk up to the 4th floor in heels that are too tall for you. Thank you for supporting me in AP research, English, and digital imaging (you just let me know what the assignments were so that I was prepared). I have absolutely loved the friendship that was able to blossom in the course of like, maybe half a year.

Melisa V.

My longest friendship ever. I swear it feels like we have been through so much together even though it was just high school. We used to invite each other everywhere, but that was when we had more time to hang out. Now, we still talk all the time in the only class that we have together, which has always been Spanish. I’m really happy that I was able to meet you and become such great friends. Even though you’re going away for college, I will never forget all the memories that we had.

Literally everyone else

If you feel hurt that you didn’t make it to this list, I really would not sweat it. You have also been such an amazing part of my life. These were just the honorable mentions because these people have seen me at all points and stages of my life. Even if you have as well I’m sorry for not including you but I can’t always think of all of the amazing people in my life.

My teachers

Honestly, I just want to say thank you for putting up with me. Whether I talk in class or not, you make sure that I learn and am not just dilly-dallying the whole class period. Specifically, I would like to thank these teachers:

Ms. Santoyo

Thank you so much for dealing with me these past three years. OMG I can’t believe that it’s been that long. You have taught me so much about Spanish in general and the culture plus the literature that goes along with it. Thank you for putting up with my comments on how I’m tired and that I just want to go home. I also want to thank you for all the times that you’ve let me use your ice pack because I had horrible migraines. You helped me there because. without it, I would have felt dead and drained. But you also gave me a trick to try here at home whenever I have a migraine.

Ms. Hickey

I know that we only met this year, but it feels like I’ve known you for way longer. You are someone who inspired me even more to be a teacher. Thank you for letting me be a part of your classroom this year. It truly was such an amazing experience. You were always proud of all of my accomplishments because you knew that I was capable of doing great in anything that I put my mind to. Thank you for being such a great role model for myself and for the 7th graders. It means a lot to me.

Mr. Dunning

The teacher that I only had once but changed my life forever. I know that I say this a lot, but you really did teach me so much more in a year than what I learned my entire time in elementary and middle school. Thank you for still supporting me today with all of my accomplishments and for giving me food whenever I needed it. You know how to cheer me up on a sad day because you know how to make every single person in your class laugh. Thank you for everything.

Mr. Ejzak

The one teacher who was never actually my teacher. Thank you so much for supporting me since my sophomore year when I joined the BALM. You always listen to my F1 rants, even if it is just extreme nonsense. And you help me stay delusional by continuing to let me think that I have four husbands. I have loved and enjoyed every single conversation we have, whether it be about something important or about complete nonsense. Thank you for treating me like one of your actual students even though I was never in any of your classes. Live Laugh Love Ejzak.

mY FAMILY

I can’t believe that it’s almost time for me to graduate!!! This is such a wonderful moment in my life, and you guys have been there to support me through it all. Thank you for being the greatest family ever, both spiritually and physically. I love all of you so much. Thank you for being the people who helped me cross the finish line. You all have been my greatest achievement yet because you have taught me how to be the person that I am today. Gracias por ser una familia increíble.

Mom

I just wanted to tell you one thing Mom, thank you for being my role model. You showed me what it’s like to work for what I want. Even if I don’t listen half the time when we argue, I still love you a lot. You have always been there for me since I was just a little girl. You taught me what it was like to have to work for what I want to have in life. You taught me what it was like to be a great parent. But most importantly, thank you for just being my mom. The person who teaches me right from wrong, thank you for being my mom. Not only that, but the person who truly knows me. The person who has been my role model since the day that I was born. I love you Mom. To the moon and back.

Dad

Muchas gracias por ser el papá más fuerte y amable en todo el mundo, I love you so much. Thank you for helping me through everything. I always like referring to myself as the daddy’s girl because we were always together when I was just a kid. You went on all the kid rides with me at Six Flags, you always held my hand whenever we were crossing a street, and I always sat next to you in restaurants. That last one still applies to me today because I would fight one of my sisters to have my original seat next to you. Thank you for everything Dad. I love you.

Gaby

To my oldest sister, thank you for being in my life. You taught me what it was like to be such an amazing person. You are the one that I always rant to whenever something happens at school because you just get it. Thank you for still driving me to school, even if I do get mad at you a lot. You always listen to me ranting and I always listen to you. Even though mom may not like it, I love judging everything and anything with you. I especially love it when you let me cry in your room because I’m stressed or whenever you cry with me because of the many problems that you are having that day. Regardless, I just love talking to you. The last thing that I want to tell you is that I love you hermana.

Andrea

My favorite little sister, thank you for being such a hardhead. Thank you for never listening to me. Thank you for never giving up on me. I know that having to deal with me can be such a headache, but thank you for doing it. Even though you never want to listen or watch anything F1 related, thank you for doing whatever I make you watch or listen to whatever I have on. You are truly such an amazing person. I love you so much.

Grandma

I love you so much Grandma. You taught me how to be an amazing person. You taught me that I should learn how to cook one of these days because someone needs to learn all of your recipes. Thank you for making me gelatina every time I ask for it, or even when I don’t. You are such an amazing person who deserves the world. Te amo grandma.

Cassy and Eddie

Thank you for being my second parents Mom and Dad! You guys have shown me what it is truly like to be such an amazing person. You make sure to include me in any plans (as long as I’m within the age limit) and you make me feel included. I guess I can say that my biggest thank you has to go to you guys for buying the Niall Horan tickets. It was such a wonderful moment because we were just joking about it, and before we knew it, we had bought tickets to go see one of my favorite artists. I remember when I told you guys that I had gotten into my dream college, and you were both so proud of me. Thank you for being my second parents. I love you guys to the moon and back.

Ninas y Nino

I love you guys so much. You have all been a part of my life since the literal day that I was born. Nina Mago, thank you for being there with us whenever we have a problem or just need to go to your house and see Roscoe. Nina Maricruz, thank you for being part of our family. You have been like a second parent to me and my sisters since we met you. (even though it was before any of us were born). Nina Oti and Nino Chuy, thank you for agreeing to be my first ever godparents. It means a lot when you guys go out of your way to do the simplest thing for me, even if you have to switch around your schedules to fit it in

Grandpa y Mis Abuelitos

Thank you for being in my life regardless if I knew you or not. You guys were the people that were gone too soon. I know that I have a lot of memories with Grandpa, but I can hardly remember my abuelitos. Grandpa, I know that you would have loved to see me graduate this year, it was something that you would have loved to see. Abuelitos, thank you for raising the most important man in my life, my dad. You guys did an amazing job, and I know that you would have wanted to see how the future turned out. Los quiero much, nos vemos en ell cielo.

Anthony

My bestie that never even went to high school with me, thank you for being a part of my life. You are the only person, besides my biological family, that my friends hear about every day. I always tell them our middle school stories or something that we had just talked about the night before. Even though we haven’t seen each other in like 7 years (I’m kidding it was over the summer) I miss you a lot because you are always inspiring me to do better. I tell you that I got an A, you tell me that I should reach for more. But you do it in such a compassionate way that I don’t feel like a failure, I feel like a person finally achieving their life goals. Thank you so much for not abandoning me after middle school. With you, I know that true friends exist.