To the Lake Stevens Vikings,

It seems I’ve missed the window for New Year’s posts. My family’s Christmas tree was taken down long ago, and everyone’s moved onto the next big thing: finals. (Don’t worry, I’m not here to talk about something I’m sure you’ve been hounded about in every class.) But I still want to talk about it. Better late than never, of course.

I always wondered why we make resolutions for the New Year. Sure, it’s symbolic and all that, but January doesn’t seem like the best time to strive for big changes. Washington winter ensures that it’s always cloudy, rainy, or windy, no one has the motivation to change because seasonal depression plagues us all, finals are making stress levels multiply, and there’s this pressure to follow through with your declarations of betterment just because it’s some sort of long-standing tradition.

So instead of resolutions, I propose we make reflections.

I’d love to be able to say something inspiring to my peers about how I was able to hit every single goal for my personal projects last year, but that would be a lie. I wanted to get a rough draft of my novel done during the summer, but I barely scratched the surface of the first few chapters in early August, and I don’t think I’ve touched it since. Cosplay has always been a favorite pastime of mine, and I wanted to create a schedule so I could indulge in a hobby I missed, but my calendar remains blank. And still, I haven’t been able to consistently play my bass guitar.

Despite all these shortcomings in my own life, I feel incredibly accomplished with the work I did in school. Most of all, I’m beyond proud of all the work I’ve done for The Valhalla. I finished my first article written by my co-author and I, “Lake Stevens High School has a New Cell Phone Policy,” feeling satisfied with the research I did and how I was able to bring up important perspectives on a commonly discussed topic.

I remember not only how honored, but also how appreciated, seen and valued I felt when my teacher pulled me aside and asked if I was willing to step up and be Editor-in-Chief for my journalism class.

I’m also incredibly happy with the second article I worked on last year, “Attendance at Band and Choir Concerts matters.” As a choir student who hears buzz about drama productions whenever they’re happening, I always wondered if anyone else felt like the choir and band performances got less attention in comparison. I’m glad I was given the opportunity to shed light on my thoughts, as well as input from fellow music arts students, with the rest of the student body.

Last week, two yearbook students pulled me out of class to take my photo in order to be credited as the president of the journalism club in the yearbook. One mentioned how they read the band and choir concert attendance article and liked it. It made me feel good to hear that coming from someone who isn’t my friend or also in journalism.

When I reflected on my year, I felt like my life goal of making something that impacts people beyond my friends and family was drifting out of reach because of how much I was slacking on my personal writing. Joining journalism has helped me find my place at LSHS and made me feel like I make a difference, and I hope that many others can do the same during their time here.

Near the end of the year, the second season of a show I’ve always had a quiet yet fervent love for aired. I discovered that one of my new friends also loved the show, and after enough pestering, my old friends also caught up with the new episodes. For the past few months, we’ve created new inside jokes and bits and had more laughs together than I can count. Indulging myself as a fan has reminded me of how fun life is when you live it unabashedly and wholeheartedly.

Thinking about all of the passion and hard work the creator of this show had to put in to make it a real thing made me get a bit sad about all my own projects, sitting and gathering dust in Google Docs. After a particularly bad spiral fretting that I’ll never create something that has a wide-spread impact on people, I drafted a short narrative on my phone in order to calm down and distract myself. A couple days later, it grew into a personal passion project that I’ve been whittling away at in the late hours of the night when motivation finally strikes.

Admittedly, it’s a shamelessly self-indulgent little thing, but it feels good to be able to just let loose and weave a story I genuinely enjoy exploring and writing, no matter how many clichés I pack into a page.

This year I want to push myself to keep creating, whether it’s building props for cosplays, making music with my bass guitar, or crafting stories, big and small. I guess after all this ranting, I ended up making a resolution after all. Old traditions die hard.

Even if I’m plenty of days late for a call to action, I still encourage you all to reflect on your past year and decide how you can make this next one even better. What have you done this year in school that you’ve been proud of, even if it’s something as small as showing up to class on time? When have you felt seen and appreciated at LSHS? What has made your personal life enjoyable, and if the answer is nothing, then how can you guarantee you make the most out of each day? How can you make sure that you thoroughly enjoy everything you do, no matter what that is? These are the questions I propose we ask ourselves as we go forward.

Here’s to a new year and finishing up the first semester strong!

Your Editor-in-Chief and fellow Viking,

Star Knaak