I remember walking the halls as an ambitious kid looking up to the seniors and thinking that it was a lifetime away that I would be in their shoes. They were so big, so grown, and so close to adulthood, yet young enough to be fun. I especially idolized the basketball players. All I wanted was to be like them one day. I started at Trinity Christian School in the fifth grade. Now eight years later, here I am, graduated and headed off to college. I sit here thinking about that scared little fifth grader who would have given anything just to be acknowledged by an upperclassman.
When I was seven years old, my family went to meet the Roraback family to explore the possibility of Mrs. Roraback watching my sister and me while our parents were at work. They were a big family with four kids, and they lived on a lot of land with an assortment of animals. I remember that day because they had a daughter my age and I instantly connected with her. We have remained close throughout the years and Jessica (Roraback) Rich has become my lifelong friend. … During my first encounter with Jessica, she asked if I wanted to jump on her trampoline.
I’ve said many times before, “I am ‘just Nick.’” I’ve never been someone who went along with the crowd or looked for validation from people. I was given rules and expectations from my parents, and I was never given an option to not follow those rules or meet those expectations. It was just understood. I know that is difficult for some my age because peer pressure is real, and everyone wants to feel like they belong. My brain just wasn’t wired to care about fitting in, and I’m glad.
Nicholas Watson, Valedictorian … Madison Jo Atchley, Salutatorian … … Riley Bennett … Kayla Bradford … Karli Bruce … Jaelyn Bunch … Evin Burton … Brayden Bushman … Vanarith K.
Kate Elizabeth Woodard … Jenna Alyse Woodard … Damon Rhett Young … Nathaniel Joseph Morriss … Jane Elizabeth Rounds … Nicolai Khalel Ang … Catherine Joanne Rounds … Evelyn Grace Patterson … Mary Grace Elizabeth McAfee … Charlotte Norma Jeanne Hueter
The exciting days of our senior year have consumed our minds since we first learned the meaning of ‘seniority’ very early in our first days of high school. We were encouraged to listen to and do what the upper classmen were doing and to follow in their footsteps. We anticipated experiencing all those “last times” and being the “big kids” on campus. However, we never expected our last homecoming to be experienced in our junior year. We never thought we would have to wear a mask during our drill team competitions or that not getting to dance at away football games would ever be a possibility.
Simren Pokhrel … Emma Kate Sanderson … Delia Ruth Tuttlebee … Tucker Thomas Anderson … Jared Cason Head … Katherine Ann Ferguson … Carson Douglas Rhodes … Jaden Travis Parker … Connor Anderson Damron … Lucas Dale Edwards
As I walked the halls of Pleasant Grove High School for the last time on May 21, 2021, I thought about a quote from Dr. Seuss. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” If one thing will teach you this bittersweet lesson, it is the accumulation of four years of high school all wrapped into those last steps toward the parking lot. It all passed in the blink of an eye. … Freshman year. It was terrifying, nerve-racking, and exciting. To go from being top dog on one campus (middle school) to being at the bottom of the food chain was a jarring experience.
