“[When I was younger], I would watch the sunset every night [with my dad in Manzanita],” said Griffiths. “He [would] make the best bonfires. I basically grew up there.”

Finding a Family At La Salle

May 29, 2019

When Griffiths was a little girl, she loved taking part in family traditions. Soon after she was born, her parents built a beach house in Manzanita, where she would spend a lot of time with her dad growing up. “I spent so much time there and I have some of the best memories of my dad there,” Griffiths said.

However, while in elementary school, especially third through fifth grade, Griffiths was severely bullied. She struggled a lot with this, and so when she sees this happening in any other setting, she “[knows] what it’s like to be in that place where you feel alone.”

“[Being bullied] taught me the importance of treating people with kindness and love and being a friend to people that do not have friends,” Griffiths said.

Because of the bullying that Griffiths experienced in elementary school, her mom decided that it would be best if she was home schooled for three years. Homeschooling was hard for Griffiths because she is a very outgoing person, and so it didn’t feel like the best fit for her.

“I wanted to go to [a real] high school,” Griffiths said.

After the initial freshman anxiety of adjusting to the large campus, all of her nerves melted away as she started to get accustomed to high school. She then realized that La Salle was the high school that she was meant to go to. Griffiths had a lot of things that she wanted to do in her high school career, including becoming student body president one day.

As soon as Griffiths walked into the doors of La Salle, she immediately joined student council and one thing that she recommends to all students is that they take Mr. Doran’s Speech and Debate class early on in their high school career. “[It was] literally the best advice I’ve ever [been] given,” Griffiths said. “Now I can speak anywhere, and all Mr. Doran’s tips have helped me [so much].”

Throughout high school, even as a freshman, she has tried to be a big sister to everyone. “If I see somebody that’s without a friend, I always want to be there for them and be their friend,” Griffiths said.

“Now that I am a senior, it feels like I have another family. The people that I have been able to meet, they’re so amazing. I really [feel] a sense of community here,” said Griffiths.