By: Aiden Healy, DHS Senior Student
Freshmen year was unforgettable. The scale of the world I encountered was so large and so new. I took school very seriously. I remember walking into the yellow building for a math class feeling almost heroic. I worked myself to the ground. Each assignment was a representation of my dreams and where I wanted to end up in life. I remember asking teachers how to get my A- to an A+, and them giving me the most confused look I’ve ever seen.
Despite my comical self-imposed pressure, It wasn’t all a graveyard shift. I had lots of friends, unrestricted access to my own holiday money via debit card, and a moped to take me anywhere that didn’t exceed a 45 mph speed limit. The combined scale of the work I was doing with the new freedoms I had felt what I can only describe as magical. I was naive, but it was the first time in my life where I could feel the wind blowing past my ears when I hopped from task to task.
The moments I look fondly on the most, however, are the moments alone. Near the yellow building behind the left side of the corner is a rut where the concrete ends and meets the field of grass behind the school. In the springtime, it fills up with rain water and juts into the green grass like a pond or a marsh. During my lunch periods, I would sneak away with my headphones to go and spend time at the pond. Nobody could see me, and I could sit and stare at the ripples the wind would carve into the water. The world was so big, I had such grand ambitions. I was honestly quite hard on myself. But, this small pond was a place that always took me back down to earth. I could appreciate the quiet atmosphere the pond gifted me.
The most important thing, though, is that it taught me a very important lesson. Remember the quiet moments. Cherish the small ponds and blowing rivers in life. Even as a senior, it's comforting to steal a glance at the pond whenever I get the chance. I can look back and see myself sitting on that very step and listening to the wind go by while my Lenny Kravitz tracks danced in my ears.