Farewell Viz
By Kate Pittenger '20
I hadn’t expected my goodbye to Viz to be so abrupt, but here we are in May and it’s summer (for seniors)! You’d think that all a second semester senior looks forward to is summer, but after my last class on April 30th, I cried more than I would like to admit. Viz has been my home for the past 6 years, so the abrupt ending to my last year didn’t quite give me the closure I needed for summer and college. It’s safe to say my last day at Viz was actually one of the worst days I’d had there. COVID-19 was becoming scarier than I’d thought, my spring break plans were completely switched, and the thought of having the last, and supposedly best, semester of high school online loomed over our heads. I remember learning how to work Microsoft teams in theology and I was laughing so hard I started crying because I couldn’t even imagine that this was how I was going to have to spend the last month of high school. But, we made it! I’ve successfully ended my senior year, and I never thought I would be so sad. Not only am I sad about leaving the friends I’ve made and the girls in my class who I know will be forever friends to me, but Viz is so much more than that. Viz is my favorite place in the world (maybe not at times when I’m trying to do math homework I don’t understand, but distance does make the heart grow fonder), because of the home it’s created for me. The amount of love and care I’ve felt from the teachers has pushed me to become a better person, the hardships I’ve faced through friendships and school has made me work harder for the things I want, and the love that fills the halls is something that I’ve only felt at one other place: where I’m going to college! I’m attending Tulane University in the fall (hopefully), and among the academics and service aspect, the feeling of community and home was a major part of why I chose it. Viz set such high expectations for how I want to feel in my school and the environment I’m surrounded in each day, so that’s why I chose Tulane. I know that the transition from Viz to Tulane is going to be a little difficult, but I’m ready for it because I get the same feelings from both schools: love. Viz has given me some of the best moments of my life (senior year JBD and Fall Festival might be my peak of high school) and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My advice to underclassmen: don’t be intimidated by others, be yourself, and get involved! Viz is truly a unique place filled with so many amazing things and people, you just have to take advantage of it J Thank you Viz for giving me my home for the past 6 years, and I am truly to lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.