2021_Senior_Special_Issue

NATALIE GALARZA PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Kathleen and Thomas Galarza I have lived in Yellow Springs my whole life, but I have only attended Yellow Springs schools for the last four years. From first to eighth grade I was homeschooled, and during the school day when everyone else was sitting in a classroom, I was out exploring Ellis Pond, the Glen and the many hidden alleys and secret spots around Yellow Springs. Rarely did I ever have on shoes, but being barefoot and covered in mud is the best way to connect with the Earth. I was privileged enough to be in a learning environment that fit my needs, and I could learn what I wanted to and when I wanted to, and since the pressure to succeed wasn’t there I comfortably excelled. The free- dom to explore without rules led me to have high expectations and goals for myself, and I’ve always had a high work ethic and strong character. Some of the best memories I’ve had in Yellow Springs were through the connections I made in the community — swimming for the Sea Dogs, play- ing rec soccer with the Hardmans, doing girl scouts, martial arts and volunteering with the Glen. All of these community connections taught me teamwork, compassion, patience and virtue. I made the daunting deci- sion to attend high school starting my freshman year in an effort to explore more, and from there I met some of the most amazing people in my life. Some of those people came and went, but each and every one of them left me with memories I will always treasure. I joined sports teams and clubs and expanded my interests tenfold. I fell deeply in love with School Forest and my teammates and I gained immense love and respect for my teachers. Our school system isn’t perfect, but they are accepting and kind, and I have always felt like I can be myself and express my ideas without judgment. Yellow Springs will always be my home, but this fall I will be creating a new home at The College of Wooster, where I will be majoring in biochemis- try on a track to pediatrics. I hope to be a large part of the community there and make an impact on the school, as well as grow even more as a person. In ten years I will probably still be in school — ha ha — but I hope to have made strides in my academic goals and achieved an even higher level of personal growth. I’m so excited for my future, and I want to say a special “thank you” to the wonderful people that have and continue to inspire me and push me to succeed: My mom (Kathleen), dad (Tom), and Evan (little bro), Finn, Arielle, Samantha, Sophia, Mr. Day, Mrs. Eguaroje, Mrs. Lutz, Jonina Hernandez, Brad Martin and Mrs. Barbara. SOPHIA GISSLEN PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Karen Gisslen Once upon a time, there was a little town that lived inside a bubble. This little town had just about everything its citizens’ hear ts desired: Lovely little schools, a general store, parks to play in, shops to explore, superb restaurants and even its very own little movie theater. The inhabitants of the little town lived together in peace and harmony — well, not always, but most of the time. Just like any other com- munity, the citizens had their disputes. Sometimes, someone would hur t someone else, and then it would be openly dissected and debated on the town’s Facebook discussion forum. Generally, ever yone in the bubble town was quite content — everyone, that is, but the teenagers. While the children of the town played in parks and climbed trees, the teenagers tended to get a little stir crazy, and as a result, would run a little wild. One class of students became especially infamous for their wild and unruly exploits. They would run through the streets at night, hop- ping over fences and cutting through backyards while playing games in the dark. They would make their teachers cry, bring vodka-filled water bottles to school, graffiti the streets of town and smoke cigarettes — among other things — in the school bathrooms. They were desperate to feel the adren- aline that reminded them they were young and alive. In a quiet little bubble town where life seems to stand still, it can be easy to feel restless. And that’s all they were at heart. Not wild, crazy or unruly — just restless. What people don’t tell you about restlessness is that it’s not just an undesirable feeling that refuses to go away. It can also be turned into raw fuel, used to propel the young alchemists who can figure out how to transform it. And that’s the real truth about the class of 2021. We’re the young alchemists who transform what’s already been and what we’ve been given into what’s new and what we desire. Watch us as we launch out of the atmosphere of the bubble, into the cold and honest world. We will use that beautiful, boun- tiful restlessness provided by our little bubble town to fuel our ascension until we reach a state of orbit in whatever new places we end up. As for me, I’ll reach my state of orbit at Reed College in Portland, Ore. I hope to study neuroscience, psychol- ogy and mycology while at school and seek truth, new forms of self- expression and justice in my free time. I’ll never forget the Yellow Springs bubble and everything it has taught me. Living here has shown me a differ- ent interpretation of the word “love.” Not the short-lived infatuation that rules the hearts of the young, but a lifetime of love, many lifetimes of love. The kind of love that isn’t always obvi- ous, but is always present. An everlast- ing commitment to each other and to the home we inhabit together. It’s never perfect, simple or clean — and that’s exactly what makes it so strong. LIAM HACKETT PARENTS/GUARDIANS: Elizabeth Lutz It’s hard to recognize what is special in Yellow Springs due to the fact that Yellow Springs and Yellow Springs schools are all I know. I mean, I was born here, I grew up here and I’ll still be here for some time after graduating high school. I plan on attending Wright State Uni- versity in order to major in engineer- ing, but I have no set-in-stone convic- tions about what I want to do in life. Hopefully, I’ll end up with some form of degree and a mildly decent job in which I can try to pursue some form of dream that I have yet to manifest. Overall, my experience was pretty plain — I went to school, went home, slept and repeated. Not much social interaction, especially in the last year, so I just end up sitting around a lot not knowing what to do. However, during my school years I had many teachers who helped me try and push forward with learning and keep myself on track. I want to thank Mr. Lowry, for always rambling on about random physics and chemistry stuff in class that helped us understand some of the more real world applications of the subject. I want to thank Ms. Morrison for always letting me talk through my math problems and help- ing me solve them, as well as being a kind and understanding teacher. I want to thank Ms. Lutz just for being my mother and for always making sure we realize there is more to books beyond words on a page. I want to thank Mr. Smith for being a great guidance counselor and always making his classes more enjoyable with weird historical facts. Finally, I Yellow Springs High School C L A S S O F 2 0 2 1 A Special Section of the YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS | May 20, 2021 5 Greene County Career Center Greene County Public Health Kettering Health Network Jerome Borchers, Lamm’s Insurance O U R S P O N S O R S