Whenever I get asked for advice when it comes to high school, I always tell people the same thing: Everyone has the same four years here, it’s up to you to figure out what you want to do with that time. I was told similar things as a freshman and I didn’t really understand the depth of the meaning behind it until now as I look back. I have been involved in many clubs and activities inside and outside of school, but the Viking Saga was the first club I ever joined. I still remember sending in my first article and wondering if it was good enough to be published, not knowing it would be the first of 100 articles written for the paper.

I think it was around the end of sophomore year that I realized I had a bigger goal in mind than just writing whatever I wanted. Up until then, I enjoyed myself writing a couple of articles a week at my leisure, but most of them were on topics well inside my comfort zone. When junior year started a few months later, I was left with a staff of one at the beginning of the year since all of the older members had graduated out. It was my first real chance to step up into my position as Staff Editor and build a new staff for the coming year, and I can honestly say the end result is something I will always be proud of. 

Over the past two years in particular, I have had so many incredible moments with our staff and we have many so many new advancements to the club from hanging up articles on our bulletin board to hand-delivering articles and even to our brand new Instagram page, @nahs.vikingsaga. I have seen our staff push themselves to new limits with interviews and challenging topics, and of course we would not be able to succeed without our wonderful advisors Mrs. Albuquerque and Mrs. Ingannamorte tirelessly working on editing and publishing our articles. I have them to thank not just for giving me a platform to express myself through writing but for giving me a quiet place to eat lunch every day and have meaningful conversations. Of all the places in North Arlington High School I have passed through, I think Room 303 will always feel like a little piece of home.

When it comes to the future of the Viking Saga, I am confident the paper will be left in the safe hands of my Assistant Editor, Brian Kataro, and the remaining staff. All of our underclassmen have so much potential and have already made wonderful contributions to the Viking Saga as writers and as people. My only advice for them is to keep pushing themselves to new limits with their writing, take advantage of the technology at hand, and continue to connect with the school through journalism. With hope, next year will bring better times not just for North Arlington, but for the world. I am proud to say we have still written and published our articles in such a time of crisis which shows the true power of journalism and it’s perseverance. I will certainly be taking with me many lessons I have learned from my time here as Editor to college, where I will hopefully continue to the next chapter of my life as a writer and journalist. 

Thank you to everyone on our staff who has put their time and effort into this newspaper, I will miss everyone greatly next year and I am so unbelievably proud at how far we’ve been able to come in just the last four years. I know things will only get better from here, so here’s to the future!