By Melanie Arriaga, staff writer
Dear Galileo,
I will always remember you as a reliable friend; however, sometimes you did make me feel lonely. You were always so loud and rowdy in the mornings but the afternoon as silent as a graveyard. I thank you for introducing me to so many people that have had a great impact on me in my life. You introduced me to my best friend and I’m extremely grateful for that. I remember when we were strangers, I had just arrived back from Mexico towards the end of my sophomore year and boy were you loud. And you were everything, but boring.
Every day was something new with you. Like that one time someone lit the trash can on fire, or that time there was a whole rotisserie chicken in the boy bathroom toilet. I have missed you a lot this year and last year, I wish things would have been different and not the way they are now. I’m sad that our journey has to end here but in the meantime, I’ll continue to remember you. I was always excited to see you in the morning, the mornings were comforting to me when no one else but the janitor and I would sit on the floor of one of the halls and listen to music or catch up on homework. It was so peaceful.
You had this peculiar smell, like old books and cleaning products. On cold and rainy days you were the best, I would look out your windows and see the clouds of fog or the sound of rain hitting the class or the roof. However, on hot days you were a menace, stuffy classrooms, too hot to wear long sleeves, climbing the stairs and building up a sweat, standing in the courtyard while the sun glared at students. But I still wouldn’t trade those days for anything else.
My favorite part of you was the rooms you lent to students to practice their clubs. I hope you know you made a lot of students feel safe and happy. My other favorite part of you was how festive and jolly you were, food fest, Halloween fest, song, and yell, you just knew how to bring people together and show them a good time. Not having you be a part of my life for the last year has been a tragedy. I have been a bit miserable. I have not gotten closure regarding the fact that I will be leaving you forever and I will make a new friend. I don’t feel like I’m ready to say goodbye, I haven’t gotten any closure. I can’t help but think of the lost memories and the would have but that’s all meaningless. Goodbye, old pal.
-Melanie Arriaga c/o 2021
