When I was thinking about what to write for what was likely going to be one of my last articles for The Shield, I decided I wanted to write about someone’s experience here. I will only be here for middle school, but most people whom I have spent my entire life seeing every day, will be here for another four years. I decided to ask Samantha Ambrose, a senior here at FPM, what her experience was like. Sam has been here since seventh grade and she told me that she enjoyed her experience, and that it prepared her for the rest of her journey. She said her favorite memories were going to the pep rallies along with the festivities during Spirit Week and decorating the hallways. When I asked her about the challenges she faced, she mentioned time management and navigating a social life were probably the biggest ones. One thing she said she appreciates about our school are the AP art classes, as many other schools don’t offer them. Continuing the topic of classes, I asked Sam what were the easiest and hardest classes she took. She replied that the easiest was probably Child Psychology and the hardest was Algebra II and Chemistry. She was much more adamant about the harder ones –  so students, take note that those are going to be tough. She also told me that her favorite classes are English 10 and AP Language and Composition.  This makes sense considering she wants to be an English teacher. I asked her what she learned during her time here and she immediately replied, “The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!”  However, she thought again for a second and replied that she has learned to not care so much about what people thought of her because it could be overwhelming. I truly believe that every single person starting high school needs to hear that. Lastly, I asked Sam what advice she had for new FPM students and she told me many things. First, don’t be scared.  Have fun and make sure you do your work.  She said that it’s important to be yourself too. Both our journeys here at FPM are ending this year.   Sam is graduating and I’m leaving to attend a new school in the fall.  The next chapter of our lives is starting; one being college and one being high school. Sam is very excited to see where her journey leads here.  Just like me.