A goodbye letter written by editor and senior Jared Overturf

Jared+Overturf+poses+for+a+photo+before+attending+the+2018+prom

Jared Overturf poses for a photo before attending the 2018 prom

Dear Mavs,

I started at Mead 4 years ago trying only to get through it. My expectations for high school were simple. I hoped it would be fun and not too difficult. I hoped the petty drama of middle school would be gone. High school, I had hoped, would be a relief. I was wrong. I didn’t step out of my comfort zone enough to have fun. I took hard classes and struggled because I didn’t want to ask for help. Drama still remained. I didn’t enjoy high school for so long because it didn’t meet the expectations I had set for it. What I didn’t realize, however, was that my expectations were wrong.

High school was never going to be what I had hoped it would be. But along the way, I realized that I actually was enjoying my time in school, just not in the way I had expected. Fun was when I would sit in class next to my friends and crack dumb jokes. My classes were hard, but that is why they were so good–they pushed me to discover passions I didn’t know I had and explore potential career paths. The challenges that I put myself through shaped who I have become. The drama that arose was just part of being a teenager; it was how I learned to move on and heal from friendships broken.

Throughout my four years at Mead, I befriended people I never would have expected. This final year I started to go to more football games, supporting my friends’ activities, and simply getting more involved. I got involved in theatre, something I had never considered before, and ended up loving it more than I could imagine. Meeting people I enjoyed being around made going to school something I could look forward to rather than just being a chore.

I had spent so much time trying to simply get through it that I didn’t fully appreciate the little things that make high school special. But it is those little things that make high school memorable. My most prominent memories are not those classes that seem to stop time, or the paper I got handed back with a bad grade on it. The things I remember most aren’t even the SAT or AP tests. The memories that I will carry with me forever are snapshots of something bigger–being called out to from across the hallway during passing period or laughing with my friends during class when I should be paying attention. They’re yelling at a football game or sitting in silence with someone I trust during a bad day. They’re sitting down with a counselor to discuss my future or just talking with a teacher. My fondest memories all involve the great people that surrounded me at Mead.

I would like to thank you, Mead, for the last four years. Only recently, as I am getting ready to leave, have I realized how much I enjoyed my time here. Had I not taken steps out of my comfort zone, I wouldn’t have met the people I know and discovered the passions that I have. I wish I had known how much fun high school could have been if I had only made it such. There are certainly parts of high school that I will not miss when I am gone, but high school is what I made of it–and overall, I made it good.

Sincerely,

Jared Overturf