Inside The Blue And White
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Hello everyone! It was the last week of school, and it was bittersweet. All of the students are getting excited for their summer plans and all the fun things ahead! The graduation ceremony was held in the gym because of rainy weather and thunderstorms. The gym seems to be a habit for the Class of 2026… we always end up there, whether it’s for prom or graduation! Everyone’s families showed up and supported them and all of the other students, cheering them on as they walked across the stage. Some of the students even busted a move when they walked — like Billy Jordan, who did the worm!
While we were sitting and waiting to walk out, we all bonded for the last time ever as classmates, and for some, it finally hit them that they were really doing it. Everyone worked so incredibly hard to get to this moment: last-minute assignments, finals, early mornings and sitting at the dinner table learning your verb song for Coach Ross because you never knew when he would call on you. Then there were Mr. Byrd’s tests — doing the review, taking the test and finding out the review didn’t match the test at all.
Then, to end your week, going to the football games and cheering everyone on. The Bruce game, when we were losing, but we formed a student section and cheered them on until we ended up winning the game! Or getting everyone out to the baseball games and being super loud while cheering on the team. Then we came back for the next game, and Coach put us out in the outfield with our own little bench! Or playing Senior Assassin… the game is still going on.
What I’m trying to say is that the Class of 2026 is moving on to big things. All of the big and little moments we shared taught us to always step out of our comfort zones because you’ll have a blast when you do. We might be turning the page for our next chapter, but just know that everything is going to be alright. Your book is already written — you just have to live it.
My advice for the rising seniors: just do it. Trust me, no one is going to remember in 10 years what you did during your senior year. Reach for the impossible, and if you really want something, go for it. Don’t ever tell yourself you can’t do something because of this or that. Always go for it, and please don’t ever give up. And do all of the things! You won’t ever get this moment back again. You only get one chance to do it all, so take advantage of it.
I have always enjoyed writing. Having the chance to actually write for the newspaper and have people read my work has been so surreal to me. When people come up to me and say, “This week’s article was so good!” it truly means so much to me. Knowing that people actually read it and enjoy it is such a rewarding feeling.
If you don’t know, I have dyslexia. I could talk about it all day, but it can make things difficult for me sometimes — putting my thoughts down on paper, reversing letters or even spelling correctly. But I did it, and I had an absolute blast doing it. What I especially loved was giving all of the kids a chance to be in the newspaper. Knowing that someone got excited because they were featured in the newspaper makes my heart happy. My main goal was to make sure everyone was included, whether it was for big or small victories.
Or putting a picture of Jayla sleeping in the newspaper — that was great too! Giving Ben Surrette an opportunity to include his pictures so everyone could see them was also really special.
But sometimes it was a hard week. Writing about Landon was hard. No one tells you how you should write when you are writing about a loved one. But I felt honored, and I felt a great sense of gratitude to highlight Landon for other people — to show who he really was and what a great soul he was.
I’m so unbelievably grateful for this opportunity to write. Being recognized as “that girl who writes in the newspaper” made me so happy. I couldn’t be more thankful for the people who believed in me and thought I was doing a great job. When Jenna presented this opportunity to me, I got excited — mainly because I could be nosy, but with a reason! And because I could go up and talk to people about themselves, all for the sake of the newspaper! I’ve gained a bunch of amazing relationships along the way, especially with Coach Leon Harris!
Wrapping this year up, I want to say thank you to David! I wouldn’t be doing all of this without him. He put up with all of my “I need an extra day” moments, and some weeks I never even sent him pictures to put in the paper… sorry! Or the time I called the Blue Devils the Wildcats — hopefully no one caught that.
I also want to thank my mother! She never missed reading a single article. She always helped me put my sentences together and made sure they made sense.
In conclusion, this year was amazing, and I can’t believe it’s already over. I hope I get another chance to write again. Thank you for reading this week’s news, and I hope you come back next year!
Billy Bob Jordan crosses the stage doing the worm during Water Valley High School’s graduation ceremony as classmates and families cheered from the stands.
