By Taylor Fernandes ’14

Growing up in a time period where “Beliebers” and “Directioners” have taken over social media in every aspect, I am proud to say that I am neither. I don’t obsess over British accents and a poor attempt at a tattoo sleeve, but let’s just say if I had to spend my life savings to see Christina Aguilera, I’d be broke but I’d die happy. These past four years of high school have been nonetheless a mixture of memorable moments and wanting to jump out the window (not a very even mixture, I’m lucky the top windows don’t open very far). A lot changed over the years, but the comfort I found in music was always the same. Looking back, I can’t remember a time where an Xtina song didn’t help me in some way. Her music was a safe haven, it was comfortable and it was always there. My friends and I joke about how if I could marry her, I would (which definitely still holds true, her level of flawless never ceases to amaze me). But closing out senior year, I realize that in addition to being stunned by her perfection, her music shaped me and inspired me to be who I am. I was told that high school was the time to “find yourself,” but (finally) closing out this chapter in my life, I’ve come to the conclusion that I still don’t know who the hell I am.

As I leave Sherwood and face whatever life throws at me, a line from my favorite song by the queen herself is always there for me to fall back on, “when there’s no one else, look inside yourself, like your oldest friend, just trust the voice within.” So with that, I wish you all the best of luck. Before I leave, I’d like to say thank you to the few teachers that understood me, the friends who tolerated my Aguilera-obsession, Starbucks, Mrs. Murphy for all those excused notes and Christina Aguilera for simply existing. Congratulations Class of 2014, and all hail Queen Xtina.