Letter from the Editors
In high school (as well as in life), it’s all too easy to get caught up in your own problems—the math test you have tomorrow, the fight you just had with your parents, the fast-approaching league finals. And at the same time, it’s all too easy to revel in your own successes without noticing those of the people around you.
We too are guilty of this. As Co-Editors-in-Chief of the Panther Prowler, at times we’ve been so focused on our own lives, both in the newsroom and at home, that we’ve temporarily lost sight of the real goal of the Panther Prowler—to tell the stories of as many students as possible.
But whenever we read about your highs and lows, your cheers, victories, and triumphs, and your struggles, tears, and devastation, it’s brought us back to why we do what we do. And through this whole process, we have come to truly understand the meaning of the word “sonder”—the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, and while we are each the main characters of our own stories, we might be no more than a small blip in someone else’s.
Sonder
noun. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.
That’s not to say that you are insignificant, and neither is your time at NPHS. The grade you get on that math test, the resolution of that fight with your parents, and the outcome of league finals won’t matter in 10 years. But what will matter is the dedication and passion that we have developed in our academics, athletics, and activities.
In the last four years, we have seen a common quality in all of the 2,500+ students on campus: dedication. Whether you were braving long, muddy practices, enduring late nights at theater rehearsals, spending grueling weekends fundraising for your club, or practicing your piece for the winter concert one last time before taking the stage, we have witnessed the utmost dedication within each and every one of you.
If nothing else, we hope that when you have read any article or issue this year, you’ve seen that your fellow students are overcoming struggles and experiencing successes of their own, and that they share the same passion and dedication that all Panthers are known for.
It has been an honor and a privilege to have served as your Co-Editors-in-Chief. Thank you for all of your support, and for an amazing four years. We leave you with these final pieces of advice: challenge yourself, push the envelope, do what you love, and always remember the word “sonder” and what it means.
Sincerely,
Grace O’Toole & Courtney Brousseau
Former Co-Editors-in-Chief
