Every year is a learning experience. Nothing went perfectly, new attitudes and personalities interacted (and clashed) in new and exciting ways, and we all learned... something.

You might have learned something about forensics itself. Something nuanced, like subtle internal structure or the power of varying transition words.

You might have learned something from a piece you saw, maybe on a subject you thought you knew but had a layer you hadn't considered before. Maybe a piece you've seen a thousand times over the years suddenly had a moment in which you had to take a beat to think about it, gaining insight you hadn't had before.

You might have learned something about yourself. About the way you deal with conflict, or personalities that were new to you, or managing a crisis. You might have learned that you were better than you thought you were at something, or learned that there are still things you can pick up regarding something or another.

This is a time to reflect, to think about those things we learned this year. I encourage everyone, students, parents, and coaches, to take a few minutes, maybe 3, and just ask yourself what you learned this year. Which moment taught you, which lesson you might have learned, or even had reinforced. Taking those moments means that we become better forensicators, but it also means we've decided to never stop on this quest to learn more and be better.