High school feels like a lifetime ago, but when the Lester B. Pearson School Board announced that the high school I went to, Riverdale Highschool in Pierrefonds, was going to be turned into a French high school to accommodate the overcrowded Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board, it brought me down memory lane. To celebrate over 50 years of history and to say goodbye, the school held a party where alumni, students, current and former staff members came together to reminisce one last time before Riverdale, as we know it, is gone forever.
As I walked around the school with my friend, I was, in fact, taking a stroll down memory lane, which made me reflect on my high school experience.
Some remember high school as an extreme period in their life — either in a positive or negative way. For others, like me, it was somewhere in the middle. I had a great group of friends and some amazing teachers. One teacher in particular even inspired me to pursue studies in English Literature. Her unit on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet made me realize how much fun different literary genres can be, and I fell in love. That being said, I can’t say I never had drama, boy trouble or failed a class — I’m sorry but math is not my friend.
While walking through the hallways, it was impossible not to compile a list of regrets — some academic and others more personal. “Why didn’t I ever tell that guy I liked him?,” or “why did I do drama class instead of music class, even though I knew I had stage fright?,” or “how come I let some girls guilt me into some uncomfortable situations?”
Despite my regrets, I had some amazing experiences, like staying up late to work on projects while making a friend do a Tim Horton’s run, doing a canned food drive with my friends, or simply chatting about our weekend plans before class. Of course, I will never forget my senior trip to Europe alongside my best friend, during which we fell in love with England.
High School is the period where most of us try to figure out who we are, who we want to be as adults, discover our passions, sexuality, what we believe in and the things we value. As we were leaving Riverdale’s final party, my friend asked me if I was sad about the closure of our high school. In all honesty, I was not
Even though I enjoyed my high school experience, I have moved on from that period of my life. I am no longer the small angry girl who lived under the shadow of her older sibling, but rather a more focused, happy and confident university student who somewhat knows what she wants from life and how to achieve it.
I can now say goodbye to Riverdale and welcome my future self with all the possibilities it holds.