I went to the same high school that Junie B. Jones went to

But even though we lived where the same roots grew

It was not the same story

I’m a part of the only graduating class that held graduation in the street in front of the school and not on the football field

The only class where our Senior Trip in the spring almost got cancelled because of snow

The 20th Anniversary of Red & White Night

I lived in the town next door
A 5 min drive but a 30 min walk away
Just outside the radius where the bus could pick me up

I walked to high school all four years
All four years I took dance instead of gym
All four years I had the same best friend
And all four years my father was in prison

He actually got out right before graduation and I told him not to come
That year was not just the biggest year of my life but my whole family
My single mother
my sister and my brother
I’m turning 18,
sister turning 16,
brother turning 13

It was a big year
So much was happening and I shed so many tears
Not the point of this poem
But I would like to set the scene here

I look back and my high school is the place I hold most dear

This school is in a small town with big town energy

A Homecoming Parade that shut down every street in every direction

I would wait all year to taste chili while watching art be formed out of ice downtown

Every Thanksgiving even after I graduated you’d see all the alumni at the football game

It was my escape just a town over but I still didn’t understand why so many people stayed

I felt stuck and caged but I was young

I would walk those streets hoping for the day I would never see them again

I cherish now what I hated then

Knowing now that this town and that high school changed my life

This is where my relationship with learning became stronger

My love for History and Literature grew

Becoming my double majors later in college

For the first time I would share short stories and poems with my English teachers outside of class hours

And as of 2024 I became a published poet

This is where my history teacher let me lead a class about the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr

Later becoming the first school I substitute taught at

This is where I spent time putting books back on shelves in the library

Where I played 3 sports and auditioned for a musical

I got a call back but wasn’t there when they called my name

Only because I was on a bus going to a football game

Cheerleading my senior year led me to join the dance team in college

This town and that high school is where I gained so much knowledge

No not the right words, not enough

To this town and that high school I pay homage

I have so much appreciation for people who may not remember my name

Teachers and other students all the same

There isn’t enough thank yous to suffice

To this town and that high school that changed my life