School Return

Going back to school in the fall has always been a bittersweet feeling, but this year it is even more bitter and even more sweet.

As I approach my senior year of high school, all of the fall activities I look forward to every year are suddenly going to be a last. I will be playing my last season of Suffield soccer. Since I joined Suffield soccer in 3rd grade, I always looked up the girls on the high school team. They were so old. I went through elementary school, middle school, and still that time felt far away. Then I became a freshman, and was a part of making a senior night for the first time. But even then, senior year for me was barely visible in the distance. Now this year, I won’t plan senior night. I won’t make a poster, I won’t wrap blue streamers around the poles, and I won’t spend an hour making cups in the fence look legible. Class of 2026 will be in the spotlight, and I don’t think any of us felt it coming so soon. I will miss everything that makes fall fall for me here.

I grew up going to Suffield on the Green every year. I would walk there with my family, I would walk there with my friends, and now I can drive there. I’ve seen the senior class dunk tank booth since before I was in elementary school, and now it will be labeled with “Class of 2026.” While I’m sad these things won’t be a constant in my life for much longer, it brings me even more excitement to be able to enjoy them once more soon. I won’t be able to take it all for granted any more. I want to cherish all the time I have left here, I want to appreciate the school that I get to attend, and the people that I get to be surrounded by for one more year. That means noticing small moments in my day that make me feel connected to people, and connected to this town.
I don’t understand how time moved so fast, but with this school year starting soon it is a reminder to slow down every day: to appreciate seeing my family and my friends, and to appreciate all of the aspects of school, of sports, and of Suffield that have ultimately made me grateful to call this my home.
Phoebe Kaplan
Student Editor of the Month