Serena. Serena Sherwood. Serenakins. But only I can call her that. 

Walking into school on August 31, I never expected to meet someone so passionate about mom selfies and chunky sweaters. I never knew that looking, feeling, and acting like a girlboss could be a personality trait. I never thought that I’d become friends with the Dean’s List award winner in robotics. Subtle flex, to say the least.

At first glance, you might be intimidated by all five feet of her existence. Short and mighty. What a woman, amiright? Fret not though, her terrifying appearance doesn’t convey her true nature. After getting past her guise of a scary senior lady, she really is quite the gem.

My first experience with Serena was during our first issue in 2020. We were both put in backpage. What I thought was going to be a boring zoom session every other day turned into something more. Something much more…out of this world.

After finishing our articles, Serena, Daniel, and I decided to write a short story about the journalism members. Long story short, we were all students at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry through that train stop nine and three-quarters. Without going into detail, we all dominated at a Quidditch match.

That’s when I knew she and I had a special bond. After days on end of laughing so hard you can’t breathe, it’s hard to not create that connection. Even now we look back at that short story and reminisce about the beginning of our magical friendship.

Since then, our experiences together have been nothing but memorable. Whether it’s in journalism, editorial, or seeing each other in the halls, it always makes me smile.

I’ll miss her next year when she goes to college. Don’t tell her that, though. Her ego will become bigger than it already is, which, to my surprise, is actually possible.