Rampage Senior Farewells: Meredith Vorwerk

Going into my freshman year, everyone told me, “These four years are going to fly by so enjoy them.” Little did I know, they were absolutely right. I went from being so nervous before my first day of high school to sitting here writing my reflection about the past four years. My time at Southeast Polk was everything I could have wished for and more. I wouldn’t trade being a Ram for anything. 

High school hasn’t always been easy, but it has been full of lessons that I will remember forever. I learned that your hard work will pay off: those sleepless nights studying for a big test, or writing a paper into the early hours of the morning. I sometimes questioned if it is even worth it. The answer is yes, it is all worth it. It may not seem like it at the moment, but when it’s all done, you are going to look back and be so proud of all the hard work you accomplished. 

You do not want to look back on your time in high school and have an overwhelming amount of regrets. What if I tried harder? What if I got involved more? What if I went to sporting events? Whatever it might be, you don’t want to have to wonder “what if…” I look back on my high school career and truly believe I made the most of my experience at SEP and got involved in every way I could. Yeah, I would probably do a couple things differently, however, that is not what instantly comes to mind when I think about my four years in high school. I think about all the memories I made, the friendships I have formed, and the lessons I have learned that have all shaped me into the person I am today. 

Staff Title: Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor

Number of Years on Staff: 2

Future College and Major(s): University of Iowa majoring in marketing and minoring in communications

Favorite Rampage Memory: My favorite memory in Rampage was the Thanksgiving party last year when the old Rampage staff came back and we ate tons of food. It was fun because we got to hear their perspective on things and what it was like when they were on the staff. It was also kind of awkward because we didn’t know them, but I loved it.

Why do you like writing? I enjoy writing because it allows me to express myself in a unique way. I also find it therapeutic as it usually comes naturally to me.

My favorite times throughout high school all have to do with sports. I have loved sports my entire life and they make up a huge part of who I am. Throughout my time in high school I was involved in soccer, track, and cross country. I will forever be thankful for these sports as they bonded me with some of my favorite people. I may not have always loved the running aspect of track and cross country, but it kind of grew on me. I learned to push myself in ways I didn’t even know were possible and I realized how important it is to try new things. Joining track and cross country were the two best things I did in high school. To my track people: thank you for making me love something that I never thought I would love. Thank you for being there for me through everything and helping me create the best memories. I will miss you all. And to my coaches: you pushed me to the point where I thought I wanted to quit, but also to the point where I knew I was capable of so much. You helped me through the good times and the bad, and have always been there for me. I appreciate you guys so much and will miss giving you guys crap; I know you will miss dealing with me as well.

Another thing that played a huge role in my high school career was Rampage. Rampage is a class I looked forward to going to every day for the past two years. I never knew that when taking Composition and Media Lit my freshmen year that it would allow me to be a part of something so much bigger than myself. I got to meet some amazing humans who I would have never come in contact with if it weren’t for being on the staff. I got to express myself in writing for the whole school to see. It led me to gain confidence, and to truly see what it was like to lead. A huge part of Rampage and my success throughout high school has come from Ms. Boshart. She knows how to make your bad days good and your good days even better. She has given me tremendous advice over the years and has been there for me ever since we met. She has a heart of gold and I am forever thankful for her. How lucky am I to have someone that makes saying goodbye be so hard? 

My biggest takeaway from high school and something I live by every single day is to not care about what other people think of you. People are oftentimes so worried about making other people happy and doing what is considered “normal” that they aren’t even happy themselves. Be authentically you. 

You might be different, but you weren’t born to fit in and be like everyone else. That’s what makes you, you. Being unique isn’t a bad thing, a lot of good can come out of being different. And different is exactly what the class on 2020 is. It’s been a crazy four years. I have grown up with 500+ students all of my life. We have crossed every bridge together and climbed every mountain. We have been faced with many roadblocks, but we have passed them all. We have had to deal with many things that no other class has had to face and that’s what makes us different. We are the class that was born during 9/11. We are the class who are missing out on our last year together before our lives go into many different directions and our paths may never cross again. However, we are a strong, determined, and a hopeful bunch that because of this have the potential to do anything we put our mind to. To my classmates: thank you. We may not know each other, we may not be friends, but we are in this together.

Mrs. Zelenovich, Boshart, Behrens, McGee, Willeford, and Kap, you are all real ones and made my time at SEP great. So for that I want to thank you. I will finish with one final thought: high school is what you make it, so go out there and make it rock.