Four years, seven issues a year, 28 published issues. 

 

       For the past four years I have been a part of publications. As I sit down to write this final article, I would be lying if I said it was easy or not emotional. 

 

       This is not hard to write because of all that I have been involved in, that I do not know where to start about my high school experience. It's hard to write because for the past four years, I have thought about what I was going to say in this last article, and now that it is here, I have no clue where to start about the past four years. 

 

       But if I had to start somewhere, I would say that high school was certainly not what I was expecting, and if DHS has taught me one thing, it is that you should never take anything for granted.

 

       Everyone knows this is not the senior year we all dreamed of. The ending of our 13 years together has been cut short. 

 

       Athletes won't have their senior seasons. 

 

       Performers won't have their final bow. 

 

       The publications class that I have been a part of for the past four years won't have our last Friday newspaper distribution party. 

 

       We won't hear morning announcements or Corncob Karl again. 

 

       We may never get the senior prom we wanted. 

 

       I won't get to hand out the yearbook or lead my final Student Council meeting. 

 

       I won't get to put on the Duchess costume again to cheer on our teams. 

 

       My friends and I will never stand under the clock in the mornings or sit at the same lunch table that we have had for the past three years and have our daily conversations with Officer Scott. 

 

      Doctor Grady will never yell, “Good morning, Molly Biggs,” again. 

 

       I will not get to be Mrs. Beck’s student assistant again and have her ask me about my cows.

 

       In between the second and third-hour, Gabby and I will not be “door greeters” and say good morning to Mr. Burgess again. 

 

       I won't get to be a hall monitor delivering passes to Mr. Eddy and Mr. Porters and have conversations with the office ladies. 

 

       Mr. Shaner and Doctor Grady won't ever ask me about having prime rib for the whole school again. 

 

       I won't ever be ridiculed (and I use that word lightly it's more like joking) by Mr. McKay again in weightlifting.

 

       I won't have a publication class again or have one of my after-school talks with Mrs. Bally. 

 

      The seniors won't get to walk the halls of the elementary schools in our caps and gowns.

 

       We may never get to walk across the stage at graduation and accept our diplomas. 

 

       But for all of us we have walked down the halls of DHS for the last time without even knowing it. 

 

       March 13th, 2020, was our last day as students at DHS, the last time we got to do everything listed above. We don't get to take our last-day pictures or say our goodbyes. Seniors, we have been through so much together: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the fun. 

 

       Some of you may know that I got to speak at our 8th-grade promotion. I always had the dream and goal of speaking at our high school graduation; when I realized that dream would not happen and I would not achieve that goal, I realized I would never get to correct what I said on that stage as we got promoted from middle schoolers to Dukes and Duchesses. I said, “middle school is the time to have fun and make mistakes, but in high school we can't make mistakes we have to learn from our mistakes and be better because as soon as we walk through the doors of DHS what we do stays with us.” 

 

       And I was wrong, high school is the time to make mistakes and learn who you are, and we have the rest of our lives to make mistakes. Life is about making mistakes. 

 

       To the underclassmen, make mistakes, try new things, meet new people, and please, please, please support your classmates, go to the games, the plays, go to everything because before you know it your time here will be up. 

 

       For freshman this is the end of your beginning at DHS and juniors this is the beginning of the end. For seniors, this is the end of the end, and the beginning of our future. We have our whole lives in front of us,  a lifetime to make mistakes, the beginning of the newest book of our lives and the end of this one. 

 

       Class of 2020 you will always hold a special place in my heart and we will always be a part of DHS history. We have achieved so much both in academics and athletics. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and I hope that you will always remember our time together. 

 

       We are the Dukes and Duchesses and we will always be the Dukes and duchesses. 

 

       One last time, go Dukes!