Senior Stories: Christopher Diaz ’23

I think it’s a consensus that our class had the weirdest high school experience ever. Just as we were getting used to the newly-found freedom of high school, we found ourselves in a global pandemic and were sent home thinking we would soon return. Because of Covid, we spent roughly 38% of high school in front of a screen. A regret I have is treating that 38% like such a big number because complaining about lost time only created more lost time. It was easy to get carried away, but as I began to accept loss and the fact that high school was meant to be temporary, I started to focus my thoughts on self-reflection and how much we’d all grown.

It was like staring at a timeline the first time I opened the Senior Google Folder. Some people looked just like they did when they were fourteen, while others were very different. It was nice to see how much had changed in such a short time, but the growth I’m more interested in came between the piercings, haircuts, and hair dye. Seeing pictures of our first Spirit Week, I remembered the freezing rush of adrenaline the day I performed in our class skit. I also remember that we lost, but that pushed us to rehearse more frequently for dance, to create impressive decorations, and to stay later to set up. Having learned from our mistakes, we were able to win as juniors and as seniors. I also saw pictures of junior retreat and remembered the lessons of dignity and respect for all creation. Somewhere in the mix, I caught glimpses of school dances and sports events. Taking it in, I remembered the conga line at our first Welcome Back Dance, how tired my throat always felt after screaming lyrics, and how competitive we all get whenever a game is surprisingly close. Of all the things I saw in that folder, I can confidently say that the prettiest wasn’t any of the costumes or skylines. It was the pictures where people didn’t look at the camera and captured a random moment as they laughed or yelled or posed. It was breathtaking to see the effortless smiles because after spending so much time wondering what high school could have been like if Covid hadn’t happened, I began to appreciate the experience I did get. I stopped thinking about the 38% of time I “lost” and started living for the other 62% of time so that when it was all over, I could say that I enjoyed 100% of it. And when I broke that 100% down, it was a collection of even more laughs and yells and poses, and each of them was beautiful.