Leaving behind a legacy wrapped in traditions.
Senior year Homecoming, painting my face with school spirit. Photo by Gaby Landeros
I will be honest here: freshman, sophomore, and junior years at TJ are all but a blur to me. The memories I made, the people I have met, the things I have done, have all meshed together into one faint memory. This year, though, is as clear as a sunny Colorado sky. How could I forget about the Senior Sleep Out? Powder-Puff? Homecoming Parade? Mr. TJ? And did I mention I met Charlie Sheen before a soccer game?
There are so many expectations that I had coming into senior year, as well as expectations that administrators and teachers held for me. Fitting into the mold that put me at the top of the food chain was exhilarating at first; I felt as though I could talk to whomever I wanted, and I had a feeling of higher power and authority over others. It was as if I were injected with mega-confidence giving me the can-do attitude to get anything and everything done. I tried to put reason to this feeling of infinite amounts of audacity. Why did this final year feel so different from the rest?
I decided to give credit for this lasting impression to the mighty feeling no one can fight: pride. After three full years of building upon familiarity, spirit, community, friendship, and knowledge, pride is born. Pride is one’s dignity, pleasure, a flourishing time, and sense of self-respect; all of which I have experienced this year.
For TJ, pride will never be an issue. Having such a strong sense of Spartan spirit will never grow stale; it is one of TJ’s treasures, one that fills in the cracks on the walls, the spaces between people, the silence hovering in the air, and the blank lines occupying a piece of paper.
This year’s sports seemed to have an invisible fence around them; one that created challenges that no one could foresee, making it difficult to overcome and prepare for these obstacles. Both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams radiated with talent, yet lacked the teamwork to guide them towards progress and success. The football team had the fans lose their voices to thrill during the first half of the homecoming game, yet couldn’t keep the spark going to come out with the win. The boys’ basketball team made it to playoffs all the way in Pueblo, yet with a nail-biting game, settled with a hard-fought loss. Out of these gaps of defeat and tests of pride came some of my greatest memories at TJ, as well as crucial lessons learned.
Soccer invigorated me with the sense and meaning of passion. After every loss I was set on empty, giving me another chance to fill myself with hard work, and a reminder to never run on satisfaction, nor settle for contentment. As the football team moved down on the scoreboard, my cheers only amplified, and the stands were still crowded with supporting fans; it was the definition of commitment that was smeared across our faces. I drove over two hours hoping I would see a basketball game that would dominate the court; instead I saw a prodigious game, one full of dedication and hearts pounding with the tempo of the beating basketball.
As a senior I felt as if it were my obligation to give TJ places to boast with pride and spirit. It was placed in the hands of my class to create an image for TJ, one that everyone would be proud of. One of our greatest successes was done early on. The Senior Sleep Out was something that so many classes before us had tried to rebel and act upon, yet were shut down before the words even rolled off of their tongues. It was a final project that was to be posed as an argument for Mr. Almond’s class junior year that gave us the chance to explore this path that had been vacant for so many years. Working hard throughout the summer alongside administrators, we defied gravity, proved the impossible; we gained the permission and approval to have an organized senior sleep out. After this event being banned for over a decade, we were making history, marking our spot, and definitely making a lot of people jealous.
The sleep out knocked out two birds with one stone. The seniors were able to spend their last day of summer together; indulged in the barbecue, watching Forest Gump, playing a dangerous game of red rover, sharing summer stories, keeping our chaperones up all night, and sleeping out on school grounds covered by the sheets of the night stars and warmth of the moon’s glow. The next morning gave seniors the chance to make it right with our unforgettable freshman days of being attacked by water balloons and other things as courtesy of the senior class of ‘08. Aside from the breakfast we had prepared for our ‘Freshies’, the trophy-winner was the tunnel formed near the front door for our new freshman to walk through. We all clapped and cheered until we turned their nervous jitters into excitement. Our fidelity towards the school could not be any more modest. This tradition that had finally made a comeback became an icon in my head, to remind me that anything I set my mind to and work hard at can be done.
Thinking back on senior year I ask myself what I would change if I could, and whether I have any regrets? Nothing at all, and not a single thing. There are of course many things that come to mind that I have labeled as mistakes, and other things pushed to that place in my head called “please try to forget about this.” But without some of these faults, the monumental times and fearless feelings would never have felt so great. I have come to learn that it takes some wrong to do some right.
As my final days as a Spartan wrap-up, I hope that I can leave TJ having made an impact on at least one individual. I will find comfort knowing that I have worked hard towards leaving behind a meaningful legacy, which is built upon an unlimited amount of pride, the ability to explore passions to their depths, and a commitment that has been consumed by the bleeding pigments of brown and gold.
