Thank You, Next! | Maxine Mah

Throughout my high school career I’ve met a lot of people.

A lot.

Some of these people were students who I only knew for one semester. Some of these people were staff that had a profound impact on my future years at CCA. Some of these people have stuck with me for all four years, and some I only recently just met.

Seeing as how I have one last opportunity to speak my thoughts to the Canyon Crest community, I’d like to thank the students and staff that have helped me through the journey of high school – Ariana Grande style, of course.

-

Thank you to my best friend. You are the person I can always count on to be there for me. Whether it’s waiting in line at the last few minutes of Disneyland or helping me clean up my desk during Sculpture, you are my true twin flame. Thank you for introducing me to queen Ari, for never failing to make me laugh, and for always keeping me in check. There is genuinely way too much I could say about us and our friendship, but I wouldn’t want it to feed your ego too much so I’ll just save it for the countless birthday cards I’ll write for you in the future. Just know that you’re stuck with me for life and that astrology is definitely real.

Thank you to the girl I met almost eight years ago and who became my first friend in San Diego. In retrospect, our friendship has been a little more rocky than most, but somehow we've always stuck it through. You’ve taught me incredible lessons on how to be a thoughtful person, a listener, an observer, and simply just a good friend. Even though we’re complete and total opposites, I’ve always looked up to you and hope that we’ll continue to keep in touch even if only through likes on Twitter. Your work ethic, your personality, and your insane strength both mentally and physically will take you so far. Just don’t get brought down by other people (or as you like to say, just give less f*cks).

Thank you to the boy who sits in front of me in AP Lit. Although we might just be seasonal friends (hopefully we can change this in the future), you are genuinely one of my motivators to wake up in the morning. Your endless amount of valid (or “based,” as you’ve taught me to say) opinions and incredibly large vocabulary, drive me to continue my passions and my quest for learning (but not in a Frankenstein way). I look up to you as a student, a peer, and a person – so much so that when I was going through one of my worst mental breakdowns you lifted me up with just a simple compliment, something that helped me realize my own self worth in a time where I thought I didn't have any. Here’s to future Discord music listening sessions, ranting about how our opinions on literature are better than our peers, or even just taming cats in Minecraft. I better see you winning a Nobel Peace Prize in the future (I’m manifesting it).

Thank you to my twin (but in teacher form). CCA has a number of incredible staff and I have been so lucky to have been surrounded by such great educators throughout my four years, but you (and a couple others) have definitely stuck out to me. I genuinely feel like I could talk to you for hours on end about literally anything. Not only do you teach your classes with intense passion and vigor in the subject, you also want to teach us lessons that we’ll be using in the future. Because of you, I’ve removed “positive” and “negative” from my vocabulary and have grown an even greater love for writing and teaching. Thank you for an insane last semester of high school and hopefully I’ll be at least half of the Literature/Writing student and teacher you are today.

Thank you to the duck I met last year. Unfortunately, we’re not in the same grade so I don’t see you as much as I do the others mentioned in this article, but you’ve made an impact on my life all the same. I remember when we first met you were a graduating senior and you said we were “4lyfers.” I foolishly made the argument that we might not even be friends after that summer. Here we are more than a year later and I was (thankfully) incredibly wrong. You are another person I can always count on to be there for me and I am so grateful I got the opportunity to meet you. After all, you are the only friend my mom follows on Instagram, so I kind of have to keep you around…

Thank you to my AP Stats teacher. CCA students are always told that the staff are here to support us through anything, academic or not, and you seem to be my go-to. Even though I wasn’t the greatest at the subject you teach, you’ve always been the school version of an emotional support system. When I was having the worst week of my life, your door was always open. And not only that, but the way you connect with your students is so different from any other teacher I’ve ever had. Your students are your friends too, and that’s why I appreciate you so much. I better see you, your husband, and Nala traveling the world, but only after I follow your Instagram.

Thank you to the team-carry. It’s a little weird that we only became close a year ago (once you introduced me to our favorite artist(s)) but I’m so glad we did. I will always be your number one fan and I genuinely hope only good things come to you. It has been such an honor to watch you grow throughout the years and I hope we still keep in touch once you graduate. Here’s to manifesting Seventeen tickets and always being mistaken for sisters (for some odd reason). Also, let’s hang out soon, there’s a lot I need to tell you.

And last, but certainly not least, thank you for reading this article! Pulse has been my home for the past three years of high school and even though we aren’t incredibly well-known around CCA, every read counts and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to share my voice to the community. If you weren’t featured in my list, it’s because I didn’t want my last Pulse article to be more than 5000 words (believe me, I was saving you and your eyes). There are still so many people I could thank – my whole sculpture table, the kids in the Pulse middle room, my volleyball group chat, duck squad, the girl who introduced me to Better Buzz, the boy who only wore Adidas track suits freshman year, the list is really just endless – but these are the ones I felt deserve the biggest thank you from me right now.

Here’s to all the people who have made a difference in my life during high school. Clearly, I’ve learned from the pain and turned out absolutely amazing. Thank you, next!