Growing up, my grandpa called me El Destructo, a nickname bestowed upon me in my toddling years for always sweeping the newspapers off of the coffee table when arriving at my grandparents’ house. Although I don’t remember those events, it is my earliest association with newspapers and with journalism, a field I wouldn’t truly begin to study until my junior year of high school.
When I was scheduling classes for my junior year, I wanted to take electives, but there wasn’t much room in my schedule alongside AP and college-level courses. I was able to squeeze in one every-other day class, and when choosing between business management and journalism, it was an easy decision. I have always been good at writing, and I wanted to grow more attached to it, a goal I successfully completed through The Warrior.
Journalism is a type of informative writing that is so different from the constraints of typical English courses, and I dove in headfirst. I have written over a dozen articles in my Wantagh High School career, and being co-editor-in-chief alongside the incredible Michelle Smith has been an amazing experience. Once again, El Destructo swept newspapers on the table, this time in an effort to organize them and edit them to put them into the proper format.
As my time at Wantagh comes to a close, I know that I will always look back fondly on my days as part of The Warrior. Thank you to everyone who has helped me grow over my academic career, and to my fellow students: I can’t wait to see what you accomplish in the future. Madeline Rose, signing out.