Dear CHS: A letter to Canyon High

Dear Canyon High School,

We’ve been through a lot together. You’ve celebrated with me at my best, and you’ve supported me through my worst. I look at you now, and I see a deserted building. An empty parking lot. An empty practice field. I am unable to comprehend the stillness of what lies before me. I am so used to seeing your doors burst with students and your halls erupt with laughter. But now, as I look at your empty frame, I am filled with sorrow.

My heart longs for the things of the past. As I sit at home, waiting for the news that will bring us back together, my mind starts to drift to all of the memories I have made with you. I think about all of our pep rallies; being packed into our student sections and standing close to our peers as we cheer on the Purple Posse. Back to the moments where the only thing that mattered was winning the spirit stick. When we were all one big family who shared a closeness that is incomprehensible to me now.

Now, we do school from our homes, and we stay away from crowds that consist of more than 10 people. Now, instead of worrying about a presentation in front of the class, my anguish and sweaty palms come from a task as trivial as going to Walmart or pumping gas. Now, as I isolate myself from the people I love most, I see just how much I took for granted.

People always talk about the big moments in high school that you will remember forever, like prom or graduation. But for me, it is the small things that I have grown to miss during this time. I miss the enthusiastic way Mr. McCulloch would give the daily announcements. I miss the hectic passing periods and full stairwells. I even miss the consistency of waking up every day with a reason to get dressed and leave my house. It is the everyday things that seemed so trivial that I now feel the strongest longing for.

I remember the way we all rushed out of class when the final bell rang that last day with you, eagerly chatting about spring break plans. If I would have known that things would be the way they are now, I would have lingered just a bit longer. I would have taken it all in one last time. I have always thought that endings were hard, but they are so much harder when you do not get a chance to prepare for them.

All of this time has only intensified these emotions and opened my eyes to what I have taken for granted. Although I understand the reason we are being kept apart, I cannot wait for our joyous reconnection on the day that school resumes.

Until then, Canyon High School.