"Thank You Etiwanda"--Kahea

Here we are, after 13 long years of sleep deprivation and that traumatic school bell going off every hour. Adults have often been telling me that ‘High school is the best years of your life,” and that “oh life starts when you leave high school.” I refuse to let highschool be the best years of my life, and you adults should stop feeling so nostalgic for happier times because of how doom and gloom you feel. That and to say that “real life starts after high school,” is stupid and don’t let it downplay all of the experiences and decisions we’ve had to make be it good or bad. Life started the second we were born into this world, and everything that’s led up to this moment has made us prepared to go off and do what we want to do. 

I think we can all remember when we first got to this school, and for me, it started early in the summer because I joined the marching band. The rubber that makes up the turf has a rich rubber smell in the summer because of the heat, which I remember from practices. Being covered in chilled sticky sweat in the last hour of 1 of many 12 hour practices is euphoric, with it all leading it to a 10-minute performance in a filled stadium by the end of the week. The part of the marching band I miss the most is the parades. January 12th, 2018 was the last parade I ever marched, and being around so many people that are in different parts of the world right now is a pleasant wholesome experience in my mind. Backstage at Disney was filled with security making sure we didn’t have our cameras out or were doing anything more ridiculous. We marched in California Adventure from the start of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride and ended at the Pier while it was being renovated to be what is now Pixar Pier. What’s ironic is that not only do the students march a good mile but so do the parents as they frantically try to get pictures as they push through all of the small children. We worked so hard for that moment and I loved waving at people because they’d wave back in awe. In the end, the Marching Band not only made me more musically literate but gave me a family mentality that I carry with me whenever I think of others. 

I quit the marching band my junior year so I could focus on school and ASB. ASB had many brother and sister figures that helped guide me through my school year academically and emotionally. The pressure of what I wanted to spend my life doing as a career loomed over me. Life was incredibly stressful from sophomore year onward for reasons I don’t want to say on here. Alongside that, I bounced interests from the medical field to chemistry, to engineering, and struck gold on film at the end of junior year. What I was searching for was completely under my nose the whole time. Doing homework I'd be listening to music or having an episode of a show playing in the background, and sure that’s minor, but what’s ironic to me was that I had started a whole club based around film while I was struggling to figure out what I wanted. 

Lastly, What perfectly wrapped up my 4 years at Etiwanda was Kingsball week. All of the work and relationships I made over the past 4 years all came together to support me. In high school, we all struggle to find our identity but that week gave me a pretty good idea of who I am. Going onwards into the future I know myself better, and how hard I'm going to have to work to achieve what I want in this lifetime. 

High School is a small sliver of my life and has shaped my soul and made me aware of its flawed but still beautiful form. When I look at this letter in the future if I'm ever misguided or looking to see how corny I sound then hello future me. I hope you still hate olives on pizza. You know well how they can ruin a whole pie but maybe I'm taste blind in the future or we’re all eating nutrient mush out of tubes who knows. Remember to take your SOMA, I prefer you to not, oh I hope I don’t jinx the future. In all seriousness, thank you Kahea for accomplishing what you have and treating me so well. Alright well I'm going to hop off the computer and stand in my backyard since that’s as far away from home I can get in this quarantine, thank you Kahea, and thank you Etiwanda.