Micaella Rodriguez

Co-Editor-in-Chief

The Prowler helped me be a more outgoing and outspoken person. It helped me express the thoughts I had about issues on and off campus. I was able to grow as a writer and expand my knowledge on the world of journalism. I’ve always enjoyed writing and being a part of this program helped me learn so much and I’m so glad I joined freshman year.

As far as a teacher that made an impact on me, the first that comes to mind is Ms. Lopez, better known as Jlo. Jlo was my Pep Squad Director from my freshman year up until my junior year, though she did resign from the position, her guidance and advice has stuck with me all throughout high school. Jlo inspired me to push myself out of my comfort zone. She always encouraged me to try new things and commended my leadership. When I believed that something was too overwhelming for me, she proved me wrong and advised me through my struggles. She was always in my corner and helped me grow not only as a dancer, but as a student and a person. When I found out I’d be going into my senior year with a new director, I was of course very disheartened and I didn’t think I’d be able to lead the team without Jlo. However her uplifting words of encouragement kept me going throughout the year and through the many struggles this year has given me, I’d always think of her and how she wouldn’t want me to give up. 

This year I’ve also gotten the opportunity to become closer with the NHS sponsor, Ms.Smith. Even though I was in her English class my sophomore year, I never really bonded with her as I was really quiet in that class. However this year, I was NHS Historian and I got to see Ms. Smith more frequently. WIth NHS events, making many terrible bulletin boards with my fellow officer, secretary Kailey Domingo, and overall just spending time together, I was always happy when I got to see Ms. Smith. I always knew I could talk to her about anything and through our time spent together, I’ve really gotten to bond with her and it’s unexpectedly one of the hardest goodbyes to make this year.

And to Mrs. Scott, thank you for sticking with me all four years, thank you for watching me grow as a journalist and as a person. When I became Editor in Chief my junior year, I barely had a clue as to what I was doing, but your guidance always eased my worries. I will always be grateful for the memories and experience I acquired in this program. I will now be able to take what I’ve learned and carry it with me for the rest of my life. I will always love and miss being a part of The Prowler.

By Salma Valadez Design Editor

My high school expectations stemmed from High School Musical, Glee, and Mean Girls. Needless to say, they were very unrealistic. People don’t walk around with basketballs, no one spontaneously bursts into song, and no one got hit by a big yellow school bus. No, high school isn’t as glamorous as it is on the Disney Channel. Yes, it does go by unbelievably fast. I got to school on the first day of freshman year, blinked, and now I’m writing my senior farewell article realizing that I’m the same age my older sister was when I was a freshman.

A lot of amazing memories were made and great things were discovered during the four-year-long chapter that is now coming to an end. Freshman year I found fellowship in my small group which was the first time I felt at home. Sophomore year I found a passion for design and photography through working on the yearbook. Junior year I was a hot mess with a lot of mental breakdowns (Please tell me I wasn’t the only one). Senior year, through all of its unique obstacles, I found my purpose through God.

Throughout all four years of high school, the classes I looked forward to most were my journalism classes. Mrs. Scott was one of the best teachers I have ever had and I will miss her so much. The friends I made in the classes grew into a family. Yearbook gave me a place to express myself creatively and newspaper helped me find my voice. There are truly too many people to list who I will miss deeply while beginning my transition into adulthood, but I’ll name a few: Sally and Zoe, my absolute best friends; Mrs. Scott, the best teacher I could ever ask for who has such a big heart; All of my yearbook staffers and editors who worked so hard to make this year’s book come together; And all of the newspaper staffers and editors who persevered through the challenges that were thrown at them.

Being a part of the class of 2020 has taught valuable lessons: Ranks are not everything. GPA’s are not everything. Grades are not everything. Yes, they’re all important, but they don’t define whether we are a failure or success. It’s so important to enjoy spending time with friends and making final memories as kids, but also to know that high school is only a small milestone compared to the major ones that come with adulthood. I know now not to take any moments for granted. I’ve learned not to fear what the future holds, but to look forward to what the future has in store for me. Jeremiah 29:11 reads “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” With my final goodbye, I encourage all, especially the class of 2020 who was deprived of the traditions that come with senior year, to lean into the Lord’s promise and know that He has given us futures to look forward to.

By Renee Alonzo Staff writer

    With the end of the 2020 school year comes the exciting finale to my high school career and the time for me to say goodbye to the school that has seen me grow up. While my senior year did not end as I’d always imagined it would, I’ll always cherish the time I spent learning, meeting new friends, and enjoying some of the best days of my life as a student at O’Connor high school. 

    I have the Panther Band, and every director who’s ever led it, to thank for some of my most fulfilling memories and experiences in high school. I’ll always think fondly of the warm “welcome” I recieved upon arriving at my first day of band camp and the feeling of fitting right into such a great group of people. Football games, long bus rides, and celebratory trips to IHOP were always the best way to end a week of hard work at school. One of my favorite memories, however, was our trip to Duncanville to perform our “Welcome to the Jungle” show and finding out that we placed in the finals for the competition there. Being in the Jazz program for a year was also a great experience, and I want to thank my director, Mr. Bradford, for introducing me to jazz and being a positive force that pushed me to try new things, as did band in its entirety. 

    Being part of the Prowler and journalism program was also an experience I’m extremely grateful for. Here, I learned new ways to express myself and about one of society’s most important and influential industries. My favorite column I worked on was in issue two of the Prowler, where I made a graphic including anime recommendations. I worked so hard on perfecting the graphic design and was very proud of the final outcome. Thank you, Mrs. Scott, for being such an amazing, kind, and knowledgable educator in journalism.

    My path to graduation was not always easy and fun, however. Although I loved to learn, I often became discouraged and stressed by the pressure of my many rigorous classes. It was always with the support of my teachers that I was able to succeed, so I owe each of them thanks for their inspiration, encouragement, and patience. A teacher of mine who embodied these traits was my APUSH teacher, Mrs. Cain. Thank you for being such a passionate and caring teacher. As a history lover, I also want to thank Ms. Luna, Ms. Stevens, and Mr. Taylor for teaching me so much about the workings of our world.

   While it’s sad to say goodbye, I’m excited for these next few years as I decide what exactly I want to make of myself. This fall, I’ll be attending St. Mary’s University to study law, hopefully to become a lawyer or public defender. Thank you, O’Connor, for being the first step in my career. My time as a Panther is over, but will never be forgotten.

By Sally Abdul Khalek

They say high school goes by so fast you won’t even realize until it’s time to say goodbye.  I didn’t know what to expect freshman year and I still remember how nervous I was on the first day of school. Now being a senior and looking back at my high school experience, I don’t regret anything because all those moments in my life helped me grow into the person I am today. 

The best decision I made as a freshman was taking journalism. It turned my life around and I never thought that by my senior year I’d be Co-Editor-In-Chief but here we are. I’ve met many amazing people and made so many memories that I will always remember forever. 

As a new staffer in my sophomore year, I experienced a lot of memorable times. There was never one dull moment in class whether it was spontaneous games of office supply hot potato? to people falling off their chairs or sharing a funny story that had happened that day. I am very proud of the stories I wrote that year and my writing definitely improved. Our celebrations of meeting issue deadlines were always fun because everyone would be together and it brought us all closer. During spring break, we had the New York trip. I was the youngest on the trip and it was the first time traveling without my parents even though they ended up going for half the time we went. The minute we got to New York, we got lost. We got on the wrong train that we thought was a subway and none of us had the right tickets.  We got to the hotel super late and had cold pizza. New York was beautiful and so was Columbia University. From running late to class to exploring Times square in the evening, eating amazing food, seeing a broadway play, and late-night hotel shenanigans, I wouldn’t have asked for a better trip. It made me open up more thanks to everyone for making me comfortable. From the trip, I gained a little bit more confidence and was not as shy anymore. 

In my junior year, I was a feature editor. That year had its ups and downs, but overall it showed me the responsibilities of being an editor for the paper and how it made me realize I wanted to be Editor-in-Chief my senior year. Work nights were definitely the highlight of the junior year because of all the food we’d eat and how much we would laugh. Movie nights were also fun. I remember everyone would make side comments to where we would all laugh and we even put Just Dance on the computer until it was time for everyone to leave. Our Austin Trip in early May was nice. The hotel was beautiful and had an amazing view. Our late-night conversations on the rooftop and our target run was something like a movie. Visiting UT Austin made me realize how huge the campus is but nonetheless the classes that we went to gave us a lot of great advice that we could use in the future. Senior year, I was a Co-Editor-In-Chief. I was excited because we had new people coming in so I wanted to make their experience as memorable as mine so they would rejoin again.  It was sad that it got cut short but our weekly meetings made up for it. There’s not much that I could say about this year but that it was different than the previous because of us having to teach all the new staffers what they needed to know but it was a good experience as a Co-Editor-In-Chief. 

There are a lot of people I have to thank as they were the ones that helped me get through high school. I’m not a very expressive person but I wanted these people to know how much they really mean to me. To all my teachers, thank you for everything and I really did enjoy being in your class. To all the seniors who have graduated and became my friends, thank you as you were the ones who helped me out of my shell and made me comfortable enough to not be shy to speak. To the staff, this year, thank you for helping us out and turning your stuff in. We would not have been able to do it without you. To all the friends I have made through this program, thank you for all of the beautiful memories. To Faith who has been the best co-editor and friend, anyone could ask for. I loved being a co-editor with you this year and despite how a lot of things did not go as planned, thank you for all the conversations we have shared and the many memories we have made these past four years, To my best friends Salma and Zoe, thank you for being by my side through all these years. I definitely could not have gone through high school with both of you by my side. I cherish the memories we have made together and I hope we will continue to make more. Last but not least, I would like to thank Mrs. Scott for all her hard work and for being there when we needed her. You have always been my favorite teacher and I thank you for giving us a safe space that we could call our second home. It means so much for what you have done for me and for others so thank you for everything. 

I knew leaving would be bittersweet. I’m sad I could not experience my senior year to the fullest with prom and graduation being canceled because of COVID-19. With all of the things, I had been through, crossing that stage meant I would be starting a new chapter in my life and I would be able to see my family’s proud faces. We can’t do anything more than to accept the reality that we have. I’ll be attending UTSA in the fall. Although change is good, it is also scary but I can’t wait to see what the future holds. My advice to everyone is to enjoy high school while you can and never miss out on any opportunities that could change your life or become your greatest memories. I wish everyone the best of luck. Goodbye OC. It’s been fun and I am really going to miss it. My high school journey will always be a part of me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

By Faith Collins co EIC

As much as it pains me to admit, high school was useful in more than a few ways. These four years have helped me accept change as it pops up out of nowhere and ruins every plan I ever had for the future. They definitely taught me something about surprises and unprecedented challenges that occur out of the blue, or so it seems. It’s fitting that the class of 2020 would get this type of goodbye. In my opinion, it almost confirms the theory that we’re all living in a simulation, but that’s beside the point. The point is; change can come in all sorts of ways at any time in our lives, most often when we least expect it. What matters is how we adapt and adjust our mindset so that all change can be a positive change and not something that holds us back. Although this isn’t what anyone pictured their senior year to look like, it brought so many more blessings than misfortunes. It just takes a change of perspective for them to be revealed to us.

I joined the newspaper in my sophomore year with the intention of pursuing a career in journalism. The news channel interests me and I love to write, so I figured it was the best option for me. In elementary school, it seemed like all my classmates wanted to be doctors, nurses, lawyers, cops, firefighters, or other prestigious and highly respected careers. I thought I was the only second grader who wanted to be an artist when I grew up. Were my dreams too small, or was I just lazy? Was I not ambitious enough? I knew artists don’t exactly receive lucrative pay-checks, and unless they’re particularly successful they’re definitely not as respected as other careers out there. But it was something I could see myself doing in an apartment somewhere surrounded by plants and succulents looking over a skyline ten years in the future. I imagined myself stress-free and happy, wondering what my next project would be. Obviously this was before I could comprehend the concept of money and my dreams have changed since then, but I still don’t care much for science and that will never change. 

Even though high school sparked my anxiety over the future, it also made me realize that I wasn’t the only one who had no clue what will happen after graduation. I still know people who are going into college with an undecided major, which is a lot more common than I thought. There was no reason to be so worried about where I would end up because most of my classmates were in the same position. Luckily, through an organization called Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) which allowed me to become one of the leaders for all four years, I created social media posts with fun designs and bold fonts to announce our next events. It was simple and easy, but it introduced me to the possibility of a future in graphic design because it was so much fun for me. Getting to create the flyers and announcements while also working on newspaper design was an incredible opportunity I’ll always be thankful for. 

I struggled to work up the motivation to write this article because everything seemed so pointless. The class of 2020 didn’t get to make as many memories as other senior classes because we thought we had more time. I knew I would eventually have to write this goodbye, but I wasn’t prepared to have nothing to write about. I wanted to be able to spread hope and positivity to everyone surviving this pandemic, but I couldn’t do that if I didn’t have any of my own. So eventually I came to the realization that if you look at a close-up of a walnut, it will look like a brain, or even the eye of a fly. But if you zoom out, you see that it was really just a walnut in the first place. Perspective is everything, so do what it takes to see the bigger picture in everything. There will always be new beginnings, so don’t accept 2020 as a year of failure, but as a year of personal growth and necessary change.