Photo Courtesy of Zachary Berger

There is a saying that a king may wear the crown, but the queen holds the power. How about how the queen makes a king stronger, and a king makes a queen invincible. Together Grey Levine and Jihad Worthy form Freehold Boro 2024 Class Homecoming Royalty. We all might have seen these two amazing individuals standing with crowns on their heads, but one must know the person under the crown. 

Being a senior in October can cause you to have to wear many hats and perhaps miss the little things along the way, making your last year of high school different from what expectations were. Grey Levine said that their senior year is: “Stressful, but it’s fun. I have a lot going on and I’m always busy, and that’s what I find fun.” Jihad Worthy said that his senior year, “Is going amazing this year. My grades are extremely good, I started my college essay, and all of my extracurricular activities are going good too.”

In a gluttony of memories one can have senior year, it is always interesting and yet very difficult to find that one thing that you feel has been the best memory and perhaps one bad thing even if we are only a quarter of the way through the year. Grey said it best when they stated, “How friendly most people are now that we’ve known each other for years.” The ironic part is like the television show Facts of Life, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life. With that in mind, there is one thing that Grey has disliked about the year so far. “Others have been quite a pain, but you win some you lose some I guess.” Transitioning back to the good, Jihad had to say that one thing he liked about the year so far was, “winning homecoming king.” With likes will come the dislikes. To Jihad it is, “the thought that this is my last year walking through Freehold high school. Knowing that the memories I once had are coming to an end.” 

The best surprises are the ones we least expect. Becoming homecoming royalty was one of those surprises. After hearing their name announced, Grey felt as if it was an out-of-body moment, “It really shocked me. My friends have videos of my jaw actually dropping when they called my name. Because before they announced it, I turned to my friend Sam and said, ‘It’s totally gonna be Riley and Jihad,’ and I was right about one of those.”

Even friends and family shared in the excitement and surprise, “When my name was announced, all of my friends screamed so loud that they couldn’t announce the second name until they quieted down; it was insane. All of my friends congratulated me and wanted pictures and whatnot. My family and family friends were asking if they should ‘bow down to me.'”

Winning Homecoming King felt amazing according to Jihad Worthy. When asked about how he felt winning the title ‘Homecoming King’, he said, “Being homecoming king feels amazing honestly. Just being on a stage and winning something was a euphoric experience. The thought that ran through my mind was that I was in such shock and disbelief. Just being crowned royalty in front of a good portion of the school was amazing.”

As the pomp and circumstance starts to wear down from homecoming and reality starts to become more in focus, as a senior we try to predict the future. When it comes to the school year come June, we all ask where we see ourselves. Grey is no different. They said, “With friends and family. I want to leave a mark on this school, whether that be band, SAFE Club, or even drama.” On the other hand, Jihad said, “In June I see myself preparing for college and trying to get the last moments of high school before it is all over.”

As seniors we start to see the light at the end of the school year tunnel and we start to reminisce and think about who and what we hopefully made a positive impact on. In some cases, we think of who influenced us. In Great Levine’s case, it was their teachers, Mr. Gross and Ms. Sweeney. “They’ve helped me so much and given me so many opportunities. Mainly also some of last year’s graduated seniors who have helped guide my passion. I still keep in touch with them to this day, and they visit frequently, I miss them so much.” Grey would continue when explaining if they could talk to their younger self what advice they would give. “To always always always shoot your shot, and to do band and not give up on that, and to join drama, and join so many school clubs.” If you were to ask Jihad, he would have told his younger self that, “time flies and honestly just enjoy each and every year. High school went by too quickly; yesterday I was a freshman, and today I am a senior winning homecoming.” Jihad would then follow up by saying that he influences himself the most. He says, “I want to be able to create a path for myself and live a comfortable life.”

We might be seniors graduating but to go forward, we must remember where we have been and appreciate the path, turbulent or not, that which we went through to get here. To Grey Levine and Jihad Worthy, Homecoming Royalty, good luck in your future endeavors whether that be going on to college or whatever else life has in store for you.