Dear Class of 2022,

August 27th, 2009. 4,675 days ago, we began our journey that will end on Friday: graduation from high school. It seems crazy looking back at that now. We came so far, and now we’ve reached the summit. Along the way, we’ve passed through three decades and presidencies, a global pandemic, and much more. Not only have we changed physically, but so have our interests, friends, and academics.

Our time in RSD13 has not just been a time of change: it has also been a time of division, both locally, nationally, and globally. Our time in RSD13 has also been mirroring the division with the closure of Korn and merging into the one track program. Division is not necessarily a bad thing, as we are inclined to be divided up into smaller groups. Imagine being in a Math or English class with over 100 people, all on different levels. 

Oh, that’s a college lecture. That’s this fall for some of us. I got ahead of myself. 

Even in the past year, I have noticed divisions throughout our class. In a school which prides itself on inclusion and kindness, I have seen many brushed aside and people become more toxic. We’ve divided ourselves into people who want to gossip about everything, from test scores to weekend plans. We’ve made our divisions into our identities, with not wanting to relate to people since they were either in ID or Contemporary. The divisions we’ve made have made us all a community which does not promote the principles which our school stands for. 

This is not the Coginchaug I know, nor the Coginchaug I want to remember. 

I want to remember Coginchaug as a place which I am proud to say I am a graduate of. I want to remember Coginchaug as a place which I am proud of the legacy I am leaving behind. 

I want to remember Coginchaug as a place which prides itself on the core ethical values and upholds them in everyday life. 

I want to remember Coginchaug as the people wearing cow hats and banana costumes at the Durham Fair. I want to remember Coginchaug as the people who don their class color in spirit week. I want to remember Coginchaug as the people in the halls, making bad jokes as you walk across their path. 

I want to remember Coginchaug, as cliche as it is, as a castle on a hill, overlooking all of Durham. From the very field where we will be crossing the stage into the next part of our life, we can see the Trimountain ridge, the spire of the United Churches, and the fields below us where we played T-Ball. 

As the leaders of the community, we should make sure that nobody is left behind or forgotten. The best way we can do that is putting aside our divisions on Friday night- Durham, Middlefield, or Rockfall; ID or Contemporary; Democrat, Independent, or Republican- when we  turn our tassels and run out of the building one last time together, as a unified Class of 2022.