Andie Barnett, junior, plans on packing her bags to live in the busy streets of Boston after graduating at the end of this year. Then after a year of life in Boston, she will make a trip back to Kirkwood to walk with her class one last time at graduation.
“I didn’t really want to go through the hassle of going to high school [in Boston],” Barnett, who has been in the Kirkwood School District since kindergarten said. “Starting over for senior year just wasn’t ideal for me, and I wanted to able to finish with all my friends.”
Barnett, along with the rest of her family, has always been a fan of Boston since she visited her brother in college at Berklee College of Music a few years ago. When her dad got the offer to start his own private practice, her family jumped on the opportunity to move this summer.
Barnett is currently taking an English class at Meramec Community College to complete her fourth year of English and took health and personal finance online over winter break so she would eligible to graduate this year.
“It actually worked out perfectly,” Barnett said. “I really didn’t have to finish that many more credits to meet the requirements, so I thought it would be easier to finish at Kirkwood.”
While her friends know it is a good opportunity for Barnett, they will miss having her around.
“I think what I’ll miss most is all the laughing we do when we’re together,” Hannah McMahon, junior, said. “She’s one of my closest friends, so it will be weird not to see her all the time.”
Along with Boston being Barnett’s favorite city, it is home to her dream college, Berklee. Barnett has been playing the double bass since she was 9 years old and wants to pursue a career in music.
“Berklee is really the only place I want to go,” Barnett said. “Everytime I go to visit my brother at Berklee, I find it more perfect each time.”
When her family moves to Boston at the end of June, Barnett will immediately begin a five-week summer music program at Berklee to prepare for college.
Graduating this year, Barnett plans on having next year off to take a few college courses, get a job and participate in classes to improve her music playing. If Barnett takes college classes next year, she could possibly enter college as a second semester freshman.
Even though she cannot wait to move to Boston, according to Barnett, she will be leaving friends she has known since preschool and the people she has grown close to over the past few years.
“I thought it would be fun to be gone for a year and come back. I like the thought of being able to walk the stage with all my friends that I’ve made because there’s so many people I’m going to miss,” Barnett said. “Besides, it just wouldn’t feel right to me graduating with another class.”
Boston has been always been a place that brought her family together. With her brother attending Berklee, it will be a time for all the Barnetts to be together.
“I think it will be really good for all of us to be able to be together,” Barnett said. “Especially with me already having plans to go to college in Boston in the first place. It will just be great to all be together.”
