Mary Grace Traylor, a senior at Armuchee High School, was recently chosen by her classmates as the friendlist of the Class of 2023. Traylor feels very strongly about being friendly to people. Traylor said, “I value being friendly because you never know what kind of day someone is having or what is going on behind the scenes. It is an easy simple thing to do to give someone a compliment or a smile, and you never know how impactful that can be to others. If I can make someone’s day better, that makes me happy.”

Traylor’s kindness has impacted others greatly and has brought her many friendships on the way. Traylor states, “I think being friendly has played a big part in all of my friendships, especially the ones I have made on the cheer team because having new girls each year that might not know everyone yet, you want them to have a friendly face that they feel they can talk to.” Traylor’s biggest role model is her grandmother. She said, “I hope to be half of the woman she is one day. She exemplifies kindness in her daily life, and always puts her family first which is what I admire most about her.” If Traylor had to give her superaliuve to someone else, she would choose Gracy Padgett, a fellow classmate at AHS. Taylor said, “I would have given the friendliest superlative to Gracy Padgett, which is who I voted for. For as long as I have known Gracy, I have always thought of her as the sweetest person. She includes everyone in her conversations, and truly shows that she cares about each individual and whatever struggles they may be going through.”

Mary Grace is very involved at AHS. She is a Varsity Football Cheer Captain, FBLA officer, Key Club member, NHS member and she is the media chair for the Class of 2023 Student Leadership Team. She said, “Armuchee is home, it is my source of comfort. I feel confident that no matter where life takes me after highschool I can always come home to a place with people that will alway support me no matter what.” The thing Traylor favorites the most at Armuchee is the teachers. She explained that, “The interactions and memories I have had with the teachers here have made my highschool experience really special.” After graduation this May, Mary Grace will attend the University of Alabama to major in Broadcast Journalism to pursue her dream of becoming a sports broadcaster and working in sports media. In terms of what she is most excited for after high school she said, “I look forward to meeting new people, and having new experiences. I think being able to venture out on my own will bring lots of opportunities I haven’t even thought about.” As excited as she is for the future, Mary Grace made it clear she will greatly miss this place and the people. Traylor has been on the varsity football cheer team since she was a freshman and says that all of the many football games have been her favorite memories. Traylor said, “I have loved being on the cheer team and all the friendships I have made. Also I have the best cheer coach ever, Mrs. Hellriegel is like a close friend to me, she really has made cheer such a fun and memorable part of highschool.” If Mary Grace Traylor could give one piece of advice to underclassmen she said, “High school can be really hard,  to me the most challenging part is staying true to yourself in the midst of everyone else’s perceptions of you. Sometimes I believe we work so hard to make people like us, we end up losing ourselves in the process. So my advice would be to just be nice to everyone and beyond that don’t get caught up in trying to please everyone, because your worth isn’t found in others.” Mary Grace’s kindness has been made very clear over the past four years, and her impact will remain at AHS ever after graduation as we look forward to seeing Traylor succeed and excel in all her future endeavors after high school.