I am extremely grateful to have been fortunate enough to have attended a catholic private school growing up. St. Joseph’s School has tremendously impacted my life. Not only was it the school which I attended and the school which my siblings currently attend, it has also been the parish which my family and I participate in. That being said, I have been part of the St. Joseph’s parish and school community for my entire life, but after completing my first year of college, I have come to recognize multiple differences from when I was there to now.
The most obvious and distinct changes were the faculty and staff. I am honestly almost always on campus to the point where most people know me. If someone did not know me, I would at least be given the title of “sibling’s sister.” This has not been the case recently. Upon picking up my siblings from school, I would usually just have to roll down my window and teachers would recognize me, but now I need to be asked who I am picking up. I know it does not sound like much, but this was kind of a big deal for me when it happened. I realized that although I am at St. Joseph’s often, I am no longer actually part of what occurs throughout the day, which is the bulk of being part of that community.
Just as the faculty no longer automatically recognize me, I no longer recognize them. When I visit campus, I only recognize just a handful. Teachers have come and gone since I graduated from the eighth grade. I would remember coming home from high school and my siblings would say that a faculty member would be leaving or would be retiring. Visiting them once in a while at this school would be my method of contact with them, and now that they have left the school, it would be almost impossible to run into them again sometime in the future. Sure, I could contact them on social media, but I feel like contacting previous teachers on social media is for a whole other set of mentors with whom I have developed a closer relationship with. Visiting these teachers in person would be more of a, “how have you been since I was last here,” kind of conversation.
Although I no longer know where each of the classrooms are located or who all the teachers are, no matter what happens, the school and parish will always have a feeling of home for me, whether or not I grow too old for it. This is where I grew up. The school provided me with the foundation I needed to be the person I am today. They pushed me to be the best person I could possibly and supported me as I pursued new goals in life.
