To some, we’re just another suburb outside of the Windy City, another farm town village in the state of Illinois. We’re home of the place Nick Offerman grew up in, the same baseball fields Mike Foltynewicz, Atlanta Braves pitcher, raised himself in as a youngster. But we’re also home to something else.
We’re home to being "Minooka Strong."
Going to Minooka Community High School was the experience of throwing three towns into one district: Channahon, Shorewood and Minooka all combined into one school. Around 630 students walked cap and gown to receive their diplomas with me. That’s a lot of students in one graduation class despite being considered a small town.
Although I wasn’t the best of friends with every person that strutted across the stage that night, I still felt a bond to them much stronger than anything else. The sunset off in the distance as night took over, and all I saw were pupils with bright futures. I still felt a sense of belonging and gratitude towards remembering their faces smiling in the hallway as they passed me, despite never actually making deep conversations with most of them.
It’s hard to explain it, but it’s there. A bond more secure and heavy duty than ever felt before—and it only grows stronger as time goes on. It’s not something that’s discussed every day. To be honest with you, I’ve never really took it into consideration until now. It’s a blessing to live in an area as close as this one.
There’s nothing more upsetting than losing someone. For this town, we seem to lose students quite frequently. To car crashes, to freak accidents, nothing can bring them back.
There are two seats open at graduation this year—two seats. It’s not a curse, but it’s something much more painful. Why those two individuals were taken so soon from us, we’ll never know.
People say "gone but never forgotten" because it’s a famous saying that goes along with death. We say it because it’s true. Despite the days that will go by, we’ll never forget them. There will always be a piece of them resting in our hearts that will live with us forever.
There’s only been one senior class in the last several years that has not lost someone. It’s beyond frightening that some students won’t get to walk the stage. A student taken too soon, without the opportunity to grow and experience life.
If you’ve ever wanted to catch the little moments when this town truly reveals itself being "Minooka Strong," it is now.
It’s hearing we’ve lost another fellow student and coming together as a community. It’s joining hands and picking each other back up, giving the person next to you a shoulder to cry on. It’s capturing the memories about that individual and sharing them with one another, posting your favorite moments with them and smiling through the tears, hearing their laughter in the happy pictures. Knowing that when the unthinkable happens, we aren’t alone. Reaching out and realizing in return that we don’t have to face being not OK alone. That even though our hearts feel cracked and torn, we don’t have to face the darkness unaccompanied.
Showing our strength in each other and sharing it for those who can’t seem to show theirs. This town isn’t just full of buildings and sidewalks, but rather, big hearts and beautiful souls. We may not all be the best of buds, but in a time of need, we’re something much greater.
The scars seem ugly but we won’t cover them up. We’ll live with them, refusing to mask them with temporary bandages. We’ll face the toughness together, reminded of what we stand for. I need you and you need me and that’s how this works.
Lockers apart or hallways away means nothing in a time of need. We don’t perceive distance through measurements, but rather, through heart.
Rest in peace to the angels we lost too soon that we got the honor of calling classmates.
To those who wander the halls of Minooka Community High School, just remember this:
Those moments you’ll encounter throughout your time?
I lied.
They aren’t little.
They’re Minooka Strong, just like you and me. So make the most of them.
“Once an Indian, always an Indian.”
