The end of the year is a great time to do some self reflection. To think about all the highlights, the lowlights, and all the memories that make each year special and unique. The Galileopress staff took some time of their own to reflect and think back on how they’ll remember the year 2022.
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of looking ahead. Most of us seniors have spent this whole year thinking about college, including planning, preparing, and working on our applications. We spent countless hours on college stuff and it has taken up most of our free time and brainpower this year. Many of us have spent the year looking only ahead, and we have failed to consider the present. Hopefully in the new year we’ll be able to focus more on the here and now and live our final few months of high school to the fullest.
-Giuseppe P., senior
I will remember the year of 2022 as the year of looking back. As this was the year my class entered our final year of high school, it starts to sink in that this is essentially our last year of childhood. Seniors have to worry about where they are going and what they are going to do in the future. But they also have to worry about and feel nostalgic about what they are leaving behind. Friendships, relationships, and family are all things that may be left behind in the next year, so this year it has been important to enjoy the time we have with each other and think back on everything we’ve experienced before going into adulthood.
-Miles E., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of remembering. Remembering the good memories I shared with my friends and others. And connecting with some of my favorite teachers that have helped me see my full potential. Remembering my final two years of high school and building good friendships and memories so I have something to look back on when I am older. As well as having a breakthrough in my academic career and getting opportunities of a lifetime. This year is one I will especially remember because it was one of the few years i’ve felt at peace. With myself and others overall just at peace. Also having new additions added to my family. But the best of all was getting bean and having a baby brother that I very much care for.
-Marilyn R., senior
I will remember the year of 2022 as the year when I have grown. I know a lot of seniors have had to struggle and challenge themselves academically, but I know that has made them grow as a person. This year is about growth and realizing this is our last year, where the seniors here have grown with one another and are now looking forward in graduating and going off to college next year.
-Samantha P., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year that I discovered who I am and what I am meant to do in both the present and the future. My D.I.Y. magazine and booking agency, “Chemical Victim”, turned a year old on Halloween, and I released the 8th issue of my magazine at the Chemical Victim one year anniversary show on Halloween this year. When I compare my first zine and first show to my most recent work, I feel very proud of my personal progress in developing both my skills and my own personal style. In total, I have released eight 40-page zines (nine on New Year’s Eve) within one year, and I hosted thirteen (fourteen this Sunday) D.I.Y. shows from the span of March to December. I am very passionate about my shows, and the shows that other people host and perform at as well. It’s been amazing to see my community – friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike – evolve and grow in such a short period of time.
-Aliza K., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year I embraced my passion for self expression through music. I started playing with my band, False Flag, a year ago on December 11th, 2021. The band consists of my older sister Pretty on bass, my friend Bayden on drums, and myself on guitar. All of us have spent countless hours practicing, writing, performing and recording our music. When the band began, my sister and I never really thought people would take interest, let alone support our music. Looking back, I am so grateful that we’ve built not only an audience, but a community. We released our debut album in September of 2022, and honestly, I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Music, especially over the past year, has really made me discover the person I’m meant to be, and I’m thrilled to see what the future holds for myself, and everyone in the Bay Area punk scene.
-Strong S., senior
I’ll remember the year of 2022 of mental fluctuations. At the beginning of the year I had a little too much fun outside of school and didn’t fully focus on my academics, which eventually caused me a lot of trouble. But I came to the realization that I’m getting closer and closer to being an adult, and when junior year started I started to take school more seriously. There was more pressure put on me because of the importance of this year and more responsibilities were thrown at me. While trying to balance my school work and extracurricular activities together, this drained my mental health.
-Jenny C., junior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as an emotional roller coaster. Though there’s been unexpected changes in my personal life, I’ve been able to adapt and thrive. With mental health affecting my school performance, catching up and facing hard deadlines it was hard. However, I’ve also had the most fun this past year with my friends, going on night outs after work, sleepovers, having parties, all while helping each other with responsibilities as students. 2022 is the perfect example of the comeback will always be better than the setback.
-Czarinah G., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of friendship and improving my lifestyle. This year presented me with new friends from different schools. We all have built new forms of friendship. I have made a new friend group everytime we get together. It’s always a fun time. I’m hoping to keep on making new memories with them. My lifestyle has improved throughout this year, like creating a morning routine. The first thing I do when I wake up is brush my teeth, trim the front of my hair, and make my bed. These few things have made my morning more refreshing and more relaxing. I hope i can add on onto my morning routine for next year.
-Yovanny M., senior
2022 was the year when I learned how to manage my time more responsibly. On April 10, 2022, I received my first job. I was still in school, so this was a big decision for my parents and me because they thought I would drift away from my education and focus more on the money I earned. Now, as a senior, that did not happen, and I focused more on my education which was more important to me than working but having a job as a teen is hard. Having a job was a game-changer for me because I didn’t have to depend on my parents when it came to me buying things that I want, but my parents do provide for me when it came to having a roof above my head. The cons of having a job as a teen is that I would get to school super tired the next day, or I would just not go because I didn’t feel like doing anything the next day.
-Jonathan C., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of heartbreak. Starting off with losing my championship game for flag football. It was something my team and I worked so hard for. I’ll never forget the pain I felt walking off the field. Not being able to win with my favorite seniors who took me under their wing since I was a freshman hurt. Now going into the new year as the senior who wants to win that championship more than anything. I have one last chance to walk off the field with happiness in my heart instead of heartbreak.
-Cali J., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of enjoyment. I’ve learned how to manage my time more, and in doing so I got to spend more time either resting, or with my family and friends. I met a lot of new people, learned to play a lot of new songs, and read a lot of new books. Although this year was full of delights, it also came with its down sides. I’ve had friends that moved away for college and some friends and family that will move away this year, which means adjusting to change.
-Jessica T., senior
I’ll remember this year 2022 as a year of confidence. I’ve learned to not care what other people think or say about me. I’ve spent more time focusing on myself, putting myself first before others, and meeting new friends where I can be more of myself. This year I did have some unfortunate events that affected me mentally, but I feel like the experiences that I went through this year might’ve made me stronger, made me appreciate life more, and helped me grow spiritually and mentally.
-Josue A., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of change. I encountered a number of challenges and underwent some changes. But I also learned to bounce back and continue to grow. I decided that basketball is my passion and what I need to do to pursue it. I realized that it might be difficult to achieve what I want to do, but as long as I’m determined, the path will be rewarding and enjoyable. And I can’t wait to go on this journey and see where basketball will take me.
Ben L., senior
I’ll remember the year of 2022 as the year of many ups and downs. The year started out rough, adjusting to the return to in-person learning as distance learning stunted my education significantly. I was unable to turn anything in on time, I struggled especially with deadlines on homework and essays, but, as the year progressed I finally got back into the groove of it. Once I was able to get it back, it was smooth sailing from there on out. I was slowly able to get my work done in time, slowly able to be able to work effectively and get things done before the deadlines. It felt great being a somewhat decent student again.The year ended off great, as I was able to finally achieve good grades, which was something I struggled with for the longest time.
-Brandon S., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of loading up the springs. I say this because all the things that I do this year are preparation for the next year. After a disappointing and mostly lackluster junior year, and also the first year coming back from Covid, I told myself that I want to accomplish things that I didn’t do in junior year. I did a variety of extracurricular activities while keeping up with school work. Looking forward, I am in a great position to be in. I can’t wait for all the good things to come.
-Ching Y., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as a year of challenge. It’s the year where everything’s new and challenging, the more I experience what’s new and challenging in the year, the more I improve. I felt that I’ve been through much more things this year than before, and I actually feel like improving more too. 2022 was a great year for me. I’ve learned a lot, been through a lot, had more experience, and improved a lot. I would say this is one of the best years I’ve ever had.
-Jimmy L., senior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as a year of change. It was very tough for me during and after the pandemic that I’ve lost all motivation to become better. I was shy, awkward and my social life was broken. However in 2022 I began to dig myself out of the hole and become a better person. I began learning how to speak again and become more vocal in classes and conversations.
-Xander M., senior
I’ll remember 2022 as the year of new experiences. What I mean by that is that this year I know that I and many other people got out of their comfort zones to try out new things. It’s the reason I joined journalism, to get to talk to different people and get out of my comfort zone of just staying quiet and to myself. In 2022 I started being more vocal in my classes, which was a big change for me. I’ve observed many of my friends improve themselves in incredible ways, and I’m so proud of them. I performed better this fall than any other fall, academically, which was a nice new experience for me.
-Brandon R., junior
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of growth. No I don’t mean my height, I’ve probably grown an inch the past two years. I had a lot of family issues and I had to balance all that with school. “You learn from experiences.” You know that saying doesn’t just apply to your mom forcing you to learn how to do the laundry to “learn from experience?” To me this year it meant that things that I wish didn’t happen this year happened because even though it was hard I benefited, life lessons and a wiser mindset. This year I didn’t want crazy things. I wanted to heal a friendship, I wanted to better my wardrobe just a little and most importantly I wanted to better who I am. Learning to accept yourself and being proud of the littlest to biggest strengths you have is growth.
-Micah A., freshman
I’ll remember the year 2022 as the year of stress. Walking into this school year as a junior I knew that it was going to be stressful because a lot of people say that junior year is one of the hardest years of high school. I was scared to start my junior year and take my first AP class. And everyone was right. My junior year has been kind of stressful because of AP Biology and the amount of homework and notes we have. A big struggle I have this year is time management; it’s hard to balance all my classes when there’s a lot of homework in each class. Another struggle is finals, this semester’s finals was the hardest so far because I had a final in every class, which included an AP final.
-Laney F., junior
2022 was the year that I started to improve myself by going to the gym, and trying to be more confident. This year I started by trying to get more fit, which helped me change both physically & emotionally, and even my friends notes that change. I also try to be more of a leader to my friends, to improve my confidence.I started by making some little changes, like waking up earlier, taking cold showers and going to the gym in the morning. My mood started to change too, I was more confident at making decisions. So I will keep changing and keep trying to stay disciplined to be more confident.
-Brian Q., senior
