I’ve attended Custer County School from preschool to 12th grade. I put 4 years into this purgatory (we all know it’s true) known as high school, but I can proudly say that I am who I am today partly because of my school.
High schools in pretty big joke. We are taught things like the Pythagorean theorem and what the power-house of the cell is (it’s the mitochondria btw). We’re taught to love ourselves unless it involves wearing pants that are too tight, shoes that are inappropriate, or a dress that does not “fit” our body type. We’re told that bullies suck but never really taught how to handle them. Pretty funny, right?
On top of that, there are some pretty lazy teachers. I mean, my friends and I know it and the other teachers do too. That being said, there are teachers that have impacted a lot of students’ lives including mine. I’m very grateful to those teachers because they believed in me like nobody (except my parents, of course) ever has. They encouraged, supported, and truly cared about me and other students.
Like a lot of my peers, high school was a bit of a rough patch for me. Regardless I made memories that will last a lifetime. My junior year I was a foreign exchange student in Italy. While I learned a lot during that time but it was a really hard thing for me to do. Senior year was just intense senioritis from day one, along with the added fact that it ended early because of COVID-19. But through all of that, I had some good times as well. from the long practices, late nights, and rowdy bus rides for volleyball to planning prom my junior year, every day I became more independent and grown-up.
Graduation is coming, and as excited as I am to get out of Westcliffe and start my own life I’m also worried about what’s coming next. I don’t know what the next step is but that’s part of life and I’ll figure it out. I know I’ll eventually miss High School, the friends I made, the memories I’ve shared, the teachers, the sports teams and the games, the school plays, and the yearbooks but right now, I’m excited to start my life.
To CCHS and all of the people who have supported me throughout the years, thank you for changing my life in an odd kind of way, and for helping to shape me into the person I am today. I will forever be grateful for all of your lessons and support and giving me the perfect launch pad to start my life. To the underclassmen, enjoy every moment because it really does go by fast.
The Hutt 