Senior Val

Hannah Wilson

“If it’s meant for you, you won’t

have to beg for it. You will never

have to sacrifice your dignity for

your destiny.”

Throughout life, there are

many things that are thrown at

you. Equally true, there are

things that you want but simply

cannot have. “If it‟s meant for

you , you won‟t have to beg for

it. You will never have to sacri-

fice your dignity for you desti-

ny” simply means “let things

happen; let the cards fall as

they may.” If something is

supposed to be yours, it will be

yours. Maybe not at the exact

moment you want it, but it will

eventually be yours. If it‟s not

meant for you, then it will nev-

er be yours. Losing your digni-

ty over something that is com-

pletely in the hands of fate is

not going to make something

become yours anymore.

Breakdown

“If it‟s worth it, it won‟t be easy” 20 May 2013

Volume 1, Issue 1

Letter to Me 2

As a Daughter 3

Remember Me 4

Inside Story 5

Inside Story 6

Inside Story 7

Excerpt From Memoir 8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

REQUIRED

Inside this issue:

Special points of in-

terest:

Briefly highlight your

point of interest here.







Sen

ior P

ictu

re

Tak

en

by Je

nn

ifer W

ilson

Letter to me

Top Ten Motivational Quotations

6. “It always rains the hardest on the people

who deserve the sun.” -Unknown

7. “If you don‟t like where you are, change

it. You‟re not a tree.” -Jim Rohn

8. “People do not seem to realize that their

own opinion of the world is also a confes-

sion of character.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. “Why worry? If you‟ve done the very

best you can, worrying won‟t make it any

better.” -Walt Disney

10. “The next time you decide to unclut-

tered your life and clean up your space start

with the things that are truly useless, like

regrets, shame and anger.” -Sandra Kring

1.“If it‟s meant for you, you won‟t have to beg

for it. You will never had to sacrifice your dig-

nity for your destiny.” -Chelsis Porter

2. “Life becomes easier when you learn to ac-

cept an apology you never got.” -Robert Brault

3. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a

fish by it‟s ability to climb a tree, it will live it‟s

whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert

Einstein

4. “Never base your life decisions on advice

from people who don‟t have to deal with the

results.” -Unknown

5. “You have to learn the rules of the game,

and then you have to play better than anyone

else.” -Albert Einstein

Hannah Wi lson Volume 1, I ssue 1

I know you don‟t think you‟ll ever get

over Dylan. I know you‟re upset and

don‟t think you‟ll ever find someone like

him, but you will. Don‟t worry. Things

seem like they‟ll never get better between

Madison and you, they will. When you

meet Connor in Ms. Hornsby‟s English

class, be yourself, he‟ll fall for your smile.

He‟ll love you more than you think he

could. When get gets upset, let him run

his course, listen when he‟s ready to talk.

When things get bad between his family

and him, support him, let him cry in

your arms, comfort him. When June

comes, trust your gut; when it‟s time, it‟s

time. You‟ll get through it. When he

turns to drugs, you can‟t stop him though

you want more than anything to do just

that. He‟ll eventually tell you he doesn‟t

need you. Let him go. It won‟t seem like

you can do it, you can. You‟ll rebuild

yourself; two and a half years wore you

out. Be careful when Austin comes back

into your life, he‟s not the person you

remember. When March comes around,

be prepared to be his rock. He‟ll need

someone to help him through the tough

times, Eli was his best friend. He‟ll get

mad and yell, scream and throw things,

let him. He‟ll appreciate it in the end.

When you meet Dan in January, don‟t

deny the feelings. Be respectful, you

know his situation. You‟ll tell yourself

that good things come to those who wait,

they do. You‟re weekend together will be

better than you could have imagined.

Don‟t deny the feelings. Trust your gut.

When you see him walking arm-in-arm

with his ex-girlfriend, you‟ll learn things

about yourself that you never knew.

You‟re going to be hurt, you‟re not going

to know what to do, but you‟ll find your

way because if you hadn‟t, you wouldn‟t

have been able to write this. Keep your

head up sunshine and remember, if it‟s

meant for you, you won‟t have to beg for

it. You‟ll never have to sacrifice you dig-

nity for your destiny. Word Count: 347

As a Daughter

Memorable Moment

Most Influential Person in My Life

My dad and I at McAlister’s

Deli

Growing up being the oldest of

three daughters has been a

roller coaster ride. Since I am

the oldest, I am my parent‟s

guinea pig when it comes to

new things. I‟m the first child

to want to dye my hair, the first

child to argue with my parents,

and the first child to push the

limits. Being the oldest of three

daughters, I have always had to

be careful of what I do because

I am the role model to my

younger sisters, Emma and

Brooke. With Emma and

Brooke, it has always seemed

to be a “monkey see monkey

do” situation with them, what-

ever I do, they do. This being

the case, I have always tried to

set a good example for them.

When I haven‟t been the best

role model, my parents have

never failed to remind me of

the example I was setting for

Emma and Brooke. Having a

motherly instinct over Emma

and Brooke has also been

something that has come with

being the oldest child. I am

always looking out for and

protecting Emma and Brooke

from anything and everything.

Through all the ups and

downs, being the oldest child

has taught me many things.

Word Count: 201

to my Grandpa who was hooked up

to more machines than I knew exist-

ed. My family‟s arrival startled him

as he violently jerked awake. His

swollen, tired eyes scanned each and

every one of us before he finally

spoke, “Hi everyone.” I turn to my

mom who tried to hide he stream of

tears that ran down her face. At the

prime age of eight, the gravity of the

situation had not sunk in. Taking me

by surprise, my grandpa grabbed my

hand that I had rested on the bed.

Opening his mouth, I looked at my

grandma, puzzled as to what he was

doing. “Ice chips, he wants ice

chips.” Reaching with all my might,

making sure I didn‟t let go of

Grandpa‟s had I grabbed the cup of

ice chips on the bedside table.

Opening his mouth again, I see my

grandpa‟s yellow tongue, a side ef-

fect of his cancer medication. Word

Count: 228

This wasn‟t the first, second, or the

third time my grandpa had been in

the hospital for cancer. Approaching

his fourth year of being cancer free,

my grandpa went in for his routine

colonoscopy, which returned with

an abnormal result. Twelve inches

of his colon gone, my grandpa was

in recovery for the fourth time. As I

walked into the hospital room, the

pungent odor familiar to every hos-

pital filled my nostrils. I walked over

center of the huddle. After a successful

win, a team meeting was held in the mid-

dle of the field where all the players were

met by the entire student section. All was

quiet as Coach Wimmer spoke to his

team about their miraculous performance.

Wimmer then made a speech about

Matt‟s commitment to the team and re-

minded the players and student section to

never take anything for granite. Silence

remained. When Coach Wimmer had

finished his speech. As if by instinct, eve-

Leaving the counting to the score board,

the student section abandoned their terri-

tory in the bleachers and made way to the

field. I gasped for air as I was nudged past

and bulldozed through, and finally, I

made an appearance on the football field.

Holding on for dear life, my friend clung

to my arm as we maneuvered our way to

the congregation of our fellow peers. As

the sounds of silence slowly crept

through the crowd, a small avenue was

created allowing Coach Wimmer to the

ryone smashed closer together , the team

and students got together in a huddle.

Foul odors from the players stung my

nostrils, but somehow it didn‟t bother me

or the others close by. Breaking the si-

lence, Coach Wimmer yelled, “This is for

anyone who has ever lost someone, they

are here with you tonight watching over

you. Whether you‟re on the team or not,

on three, you point to the sky and say „for

them‟…everybody…one…two… three”

FOR THEM. Word Count: 186

“A side effect of his

cancer medication”


er would be another thing I

would put in the time capsule.

Also, I would put on of the

many CD‟s I have in the time

capsule so that I could remem-

ber what music I used to listen

to. One of the necklaces I

bought when my family and I

were in Honduras on our

cruise would be added to the

If I were to bury a time capsule

today, deciding what to put in

it would be difficult. I would

put the necklace that Connor

got me for my fifteenth birth-

day so that I would be remind-

ed of the times I spent with

him. A picture of my sisters

and I so that I remember how

fun our childhood was togeth-

time capsule so that I would be

able to remember how much

fun I had on that vacation. The

last thing that I would put in

the time capsule would be my

great-grandpa's cuff links be-

cause I want to be able to re-

member him even though he is

gone. Word Count: 177

Time Capsule

My sister, Emma, and I

As I was shoved past and ma-

neuvered around, I walked

down the halls on my first day

of freshman year hoping that I

wouldn‟t show up on the radar.

The only thing that I could

think of was getting to my next

class in one piece, then sit in

silence and hope to go unno-

ticed; the wallflower effect. I

survived the days turned into

weeks, which inevitably turned

into months, which managed

to turn into years, until the day

I busted down the doors of my

senior year. Smiling from ear to

ear I small talked my way to

my smart period class and saw

a group of familiar faces. My

last first day of high school.

During my stay at Fishers High

School, I was able to grow not

only as a teenager, but also as a

young adult. Learning the

ropes first hand, I made

friends, lost friends, and fought

my way through numerous

bouts of pointless drama. In

the end, I hope that when the

class of 2013 looks back and

thinks of me, they think of

someone who was always there

to lend a hand when a hand

was needed. Hopefully the

memories of me are memories

that invite smiles rather than

frowns. For my close friends, I

hope to be remembered as the

person who walked in when

everyone else walked out.

Word Count: 227

Remember Me

Christmas pictures

(2012)

was going on in other people‟s

lives, and became more fo-

cused on what was going on in

mine. Now that I am a senior,

I can truly say that I have

grown and matured as a person

since I was a freshman. Some-

times I think that my maturity

level is higher than many of my

peers‟. Hopefully when I get to

college, my maturity level will

be closer to the students there.

Though I am glad that I have

matured, I am also glad that I

went through my “drama

phase”. If I had not gone

through that phase, then I

would not know what I needed

to change about myself. Word

Count: 188

Biggest Change

One of the biggest changes I

have experienced since my

freshman year of high school is

my maturity level. When I was

a freshman, I was concerned

with everyone but myself. If

there was drama, I wanted to

hear about it; I was defiantly a

key factor in the “he said she

said”. As I got older though, I

started to care less about what

“I was defiantly

a key factor in

the „he said she

said‟”


Indianapolis 500 Parade, 1995

(6 months old)

My sister, Emma, and I

“The only thing that I

could think of was

getting to my next class

in one piece, then sit in

silence and hope to go

unnoticed; the

wallflower effect.”


L.S. Ayers Tea Room, 2013.From Left:

my sister Emma, myself, my mother Jen-

nifer, and my sister Brooke.

At the youthful age of seven, I

walked briskly through my

front door, naïve. I found my

parents huddled around the

TV as though it was a camp-

fire. When I finally got a

chance to see what my parents

were watching, I saw people

running away from a huge

cloud of smoke, frantically.

Unable to understand, my par-

ents turned to me and started

to explain the events that

would be later known as the

September 11th attacks. Ter-

rorist, planes, twin towers, I

barely understood the concept

of a plane let alone a terrorist.

Despite my parents‟ best ef-

forts, I was stranded by my

own innocence. As minutes

turned to hours and hours

turned to days, the concept of

what had happened started to

take shape in my mind. Years

passed, and I getting ready to

board a plane, Jamaica bound.

After being pat down and hast-

ily walked through two metal

detectors, my bags still needed

to be rummaged through. “It‟s

one of those things sweetie,

they just have to be safe” my

father reassured me. Looking

back, I would have never

guessed that I would have to

go through such a rigorous

obstacle course to board a

plane. It‟s one of those things,

they just have to be safe.

http://

www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/

us/day-terror-reaction-tough-city-

swept-anger-despair-

helplessness.html

ever been done before. With

such a great step in technology,

YouTube helped transform he

21st century‟s approach to

technological advances. Now

countries from all over the

world can access YouTube.

From comical videos to infor-

mational videos, YouTube can

serve as a good laugh or an

In 2005, YouTube was found-

ed by Steve Chen, Chad Hur-

ley, and Jawed Karim.

YouTube instantly grew in

popularity in the early parts of

2006 for many reasons, but the

most profound was the fact

that YouTube was a complete-

ly new concept to the modern

world, nothing like this had

educational lesson.

Word Count: 159

http://www.time.com/time/

magazine/

article/0,9171,1570795,00.html

A Day of Terror

Life on Video

World Trade Towers after

attacks on September 11,

2011

Firefighters on September 11,2011

sion from president Obama to

move in on the pin-pointed

location of Osama bin Laden.

The raid was successful, leav-

ing bin Laden with two fatal

shots; one in his chest and one

just above his eye. This day

marked the end of the ten year

man hunt for the most wanted

man in America.

Word Count: 127

http://

www.futuretimeline.net/21stce

ntury/2011.htm#bin-laden

The Ten Year Man Hunt

The years following the attacks

of September 11, 2001 were

dedicated to capturing the lead-

er of al-Quaeda, Osama bin

Laden. Moving from place to

place, bin Laden remained a

fugitive for over ten years. The

CIA worked diligently to track

down al-Quaeda‟s leader. On

May 2, 2011, seventy-nine Na-

vy SEAL were given permis-


“This day marked

the end of the ten

year man hunt for

the most wanted

man in America”

Tweet Away

2006 marked a year of techno-

logical advances. From

YouTube to Twitter, social

media continues to make leaps

and strides. Twitter was intro-

duced to today‟s society in

March of 2006. With over forty

million users world-wide, Twit-

ter‟s popularity is on the rise.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter al-

lows users to follow their fa-

vorite celebrity or movie star

and know that it genuinely is

that person. For famous peo-

ple, their Twitter account is

marked with a blue checkmark

which allows followers to

know that profile is a legitimate

profile and not a fake one.

Another first for Twitter was

allowing everyday people the

ability to stay up-to-date with

what their favorite celebrity is

doing. As technology continues

to advance, the future for so-

cial media websites is looking

upward.

Word Count: 154

http://www.crunchbase.com/

company/twitter

“To catch the reader's

attention, place an

interesting sentence or

quote from the story

here.”


As the end of my high school career draws closer, I have had the

time to reflect on everything that has happened to me up until this

point. Through the ups and downs I have grown and matured as a

person. Without the support of my friends and family, I do not

know how I would have made it through all the difficult times. In

the past couple of months, I have been able to establish who my true

friends are. The friends that will always be there for me no matter

what happens and the people who I can turn to for support regard-

less of the situation. I hope that the future only brings the best and

that everyone that I have ever affected is able to remember me as the

person who always tried to keep a smile on everyone’s face.

chest. Wrapping your arm around me I

knew I was safe. Through small snip-its of

love, we choked down our tears. After

what seemed like forever, we walked

downstairs and out to the garage. We sat

facing each other in silence as you dragged

on your cigarette. Pulling out your phone,

you told me about this song that made you

think of me, “The Scientist” by Coldplay.

When the song started, I looked up to see

a single tear run from your eye to the tip of

your nose. I got up and walked over to

you, crawling into your lap as your

wrapped your arms around me. The silent,

tense air confirmed that everything that we

had ever been was over. Come up to meet you,

tell you I’m sorry, you don’t know how lovely you

are. I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you

I set you apart. I nuzzled my head into your

neck not knowing that would be the last

time I would ever see my best friend. Don’t

worry about me, I’ll always be okay.

(Today)

It‟s been just under six months since that

day in late October when you held me in

your lap. Though I have moved on, I will

(Mid-October 2012)

As I sat in my truck, parked in your drive-

way, I read your text telling me to not

bother coming over. I stormed up the

stairs to your room. Banging on your door,

I demanded an explanation. As far as any-

one knew, the two of us had been single

for two and a half months, but somehow

we always seemed to find ourselves back in

that vicious cycle. You told me to leave,

which was the complete opposite of what

you truly wanted. Always telling me how

hard-headed I was, you knew I would call

your bluff. As predicted, I plopped my

butt on the corner of your bed. Glaring at

each other, I asked you what you wanted.

Our angry, hatred-filled words slowly

changed to a soft conversation. I knew that

I needed to gauge how angry you were, so

I asked you for a hug: if I got a hug, your

anger was subsiding, and if I did not I

knew that I still had an uphill battle to

fight. You stretched your arms wide, invit-

ing me into them. Our hug turned into me

laying my head on your chest. Lub, dub,

lub, dub your heart pounding in your

never be able to forget the times we shared

and the things you taught me. I don‟t ex-

pect you to think about me every day or

even every other day. Hell, I don‟t expect

you to think of me every other week, but I

do hope that from time to time I wander

across your mind. I hope that you are re-

minded of all the times we shared and eve-

rything we became in those two and a half

years together. You may not be on my

mind twenty four-seven, but when you

happen to pop into my thoughts, I try to

remember the happy times. Throughout

our relationship, I not only saw myself

grow and mature as a person, but I saw

you grow as well. Though you have found

yourself slipping back into the „hole in the

road‟ you try so hard to avoid, I know that

there is a genuinely good person in you.

My hope for you is that you can find that

person I dated for two and a half years and

that the future brings only the best for you.

You will always be in my heart. Don’t worry

about me, I will be okay.

Word Count: 614

Excerpt From Memoir

Hamilton Southeastern Schools

Senior Val

Documents

Transcript of Senior Val