Always search for the good

Even today I still look back at my 8th grade graduation. I think about how excited I was to finally be in high school. I had so many expectations just like everyone else, but things didn’t go even close to what I expected. My first introduction to high school was the field hockey team. The shy timid freshman I was had so much anxiety about playing with girls who were so much better than me. Although I did have these feelings, there never was a time I didn’t want to be with my team. I wanted nothing more than to practice or play games whether it was scorching hot or ice cold outside, as long as I was with my team. There were always so many laughs during practice and team bonding nights and this continued throughout the last four year. 

Freshman year starts and I experience my first high school dance, homecoming week, and spring fling week which were all something I looked forward to and enjoyed. High school wasn’t all flowers and rainbows though. Just like everyone else, life took a turn for the worst, March of 2020. Uncertain of what would happen, being away from friends, and not being able to leave the house made this hard, but things continued to get worse. Two months into quarantine a tragic thing happens in my family. My youngest brother who had just turned seven was attacked by our neighbors akita while playing outside. He gets a four and a half inch laceration on his head and multiple punctures on this back and head from the dog’s teeth. He is brought to the hospital by an ambulance and comes back home with seven stitches in his head. This was a terrifying experience for my family that we are still dealing with today.

The beginning of Junior year, high school is still a let down and not just because I have to wear a mask everywhere I go. Summer field hockey play days are canceled, the regular season is shortened, and friends and family aren’t allowed to watch my games, but it gets worse. The first day of second semester I met my LRTC teacher. She was as happy as a child on Christmas morning when she first met us and she is just one of those teachers that you want to become friends with because of her positivity. Because of the weird schedule, I was at LRTC with her for three class periods, five days a week. A few weeks into the semester school is going good and I am loving my new class, but one day that all changes. It’s a normal Friday morning, I show up to class just like I do every day but when I walk into class something seems off. The principal and other adults who I’ve never seen before are sitting in the classroom waiting but my teacher isn’t there and she has never missed class before. Everyone shows up to class and then the principal gives us the bad news. He tells us that our teacher and her husband had been murdered the night before. My heart dropped and the class went silent. The next week was vacation and it was the hardest week of my life along with the many following weeks. With my other half was over three hours away in college, not being allowed to visit, and my friends at the time being careless, I spent that week alone and it took quite the emotional toll on me and continued to for many weeks. Losing her was so hard for all of the students in that class because she was a friend to us all and we all loved being around her because of the love and kindness she showed each one of us. 

I never would have imagined that this is how my four years in high school would have been like. Although high school was nothing like I expected, there were plenty of good things that made my time here worthwhile. I made an endless amount of memories that will last a lifetime that I will cherish forever. And I made friendships with students and teachers that I will forever appreciate. To conclude what I have said, it is important to remember to always try and make the best of every situation. After a long four years here, I look forward to what my next four will look like as I have high hopes for the future. 

“Field hockey is in the air…” by steveritchie is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0