From an Overlooked Senior

I am a senior who just graduated from Peninsula High School. I spent all my life on the Key Peninsula but my name was not printed in last month’s KP News as a KP Hawks Scholarship winner (“Peninsula Hawks Scholarship Fund Rewards 44 KP Seniors,” June).

Apparently I didn’t show up on the list of winners from the school with KP addresses because I don’t have one. An address, I mean, because my family is experiencing homelessness right now.

These last few years have been super different because of Covid. I had a pretty rough time because my dad, brother and I got kicked out of our home a few months before the pandemic hit. From dealing with staying at other peoples’ houses and school being online, it has been a lot.

I pushed forward, telling myself, “You got this. You are going to do great things.” I knew that for the career I want, majoring in psychology, I needed to finish out and do my best work. My friends have had a huge impact on me too. They always gave me a shoulder to lean on and endless support. I made sure to talk to my teachers more to keep me on track.

I am very proud of myself because I got through it and even without having a permanent place to live, still got a full ride to a university and earned four Hawk scholarships. I am also the first in my family to go to a university.

You may have to push yourself a little more but it is so worth it in the end. Every late night working on homework and catching up, it is all worth it. But do not forget to have some fun too.

Taralynn Perkins, formerly of Wauna