You Can Achieve Anything!*

*Results may vary

You Can Achieve Anything!*

By Emma Field, Staff Writer

Walking into the doors (literally, I pushed the pull door and slammed into them), decorated with macaroni art, of my sister’s elementary school, the aroma of Elmer’s glue and construction paper wafts into my face. Looking around, I see a calendar posted on a large wall including thirty-seven different birthdays of kids within the school. The ceilings are strung with rainbow streamers and pictures of animated unicorns with the phrase, “You’re the BEST!”

My mind flashes to a picture of the jail-like lobby of BHS that has been embedded into the darkest part of my brain for the past five years. The bland color of the walls sends shivers down my back. I envision the statues of little men trapped behind bulletproof glass.

Suddenly, the flashback snaps back to the reality of Elmer’s glue with a screeching, “Happy Monday!” and a smile that resembles a clown at a birthday party. Quickly I grab my sister from pick-up and walk past three more signs that read, “You can touch the sky,” “Follow the yellow brick road,” and “Reach for the stars.”

I get it that they are young kids, and at that age when they are taught that anything’s possible, but the atmosphere of high school makes those early-learned lessons simply unrealistic. At BHS, the only thing that comes close to the oh-so-encouraging posters is the slogan “AP for all” born and bred by Mr. Patrick Clark himself. If you don’t take an AP class, the printed bracelets and shirts don’t apply to you, and could possibly make you feel insignificant. Some of the hallways have murals and though that makes the school itself look nice, I doubt an octopus or a recreation of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” makes you feel any sense of encouragement. Some days, all you really need is a little sign that says something like, “You can do it.” The overall unencouraging atmosphere of this building doesn’t help when you’re looking for a little inspiration to ace that big calculus test or to nail your drama audition.

I’m not suggesting that our school should decorate the ceilings with streamers, or art should start making macaroni necklaces with glitter. But I do think we should make an effort to continue those dreams and that sense of hope we once had as little kids–you can do anything, no matter what grade you’re in. While it is important to understand you won’t always have promising posters physically hung throughout the remainder of your life, it is imperative you keep the positive messages inside of you. The lessons taught then had a larger purpose than to become crushed at the start of high school. While you are growing up into young adults, and the reality of how stressful life can be hits you, it’s still important to know deep down you can achieve anything.