Dear WHS Class of 1997,
I’ve known many of you for a very (very) long time. Just a year behind you, I looked up to you. I had classes with you, I went to games with you, I laughed with you, I grew up with you. There’s a small chance I even had a crush on one or two of you.
And now I thank you.
As a young kid, you look up to the “older kids” simply for that…because they are older. Or cute, or pretty, or funny, or because they’re good at sports. Teenagers often don’t get the credit they deserve, and they aren’t seen for who they are. So much lies on the surface.
Not you guys. Not my class either. Not the majority of Woburn, for that matter. As I mentioned, I’ve known you for most of my life. You are some of the most caring, sincere, genuinely good people out there. It’s funny when I’m asked about my friends and the stories of how we met…so many of them begin with “in high school”, or “when I was in 4th grade”, or “since I was 3”…and the reactions are so often ones of surprise. I guess this is unusual. Like, isn’t everyone still best friends with their best friends from high school? The answer I usually get is “not really”. Woburn is such a tight-knit community, the message is resounding…and it was received yet again earlier this month.
I received a message on November 8th, which was the 4th anniversary of my brother’s passing. Dad and I spent the day walking around Boston, visiting The Common and Downtown Crossing, and having lunch near Fanueil. It was a great day. It was a Kevin type of day. When I got home, I was thinking about how great it felt to walk around in the sun (and freezing whipping tornado-y wind…but mostly sun), and was having a moment just really missing my Favorite. Then I got this message. In short, it was regarding your upcoming 20th reunion, asking if it would be okay to hold a 50/50 Raffle and donate the proceeds to Kevin’s Scholarship. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. Simply for remembering Kevin. For including Kevin. It made my heart smile.
So I worked with you (a very teeny bit) to come up with some wording and signage…and you took off running. From the posts and photos I saw on social media, you guys had a blast. I would expect nothing less! I received a text with the results from the raffle, and was once again brought to tears. You guys raised $1,500!!! I was so touched. The follow up message went on to say that the winner had chosen to donate his share of the 50/50. Seriously? Speechless. That’s me. Still.
So, yeah. I looked up to you back then. I look up to you now. What a truly outstanding group of people you are. Thank you for remembering. Thank you for including. You will never know how much this means to my family, our hearts are a little fuller. We can’t thank you enough.
Extra special thanks to Mike, Lori, Eric, and John.
Black and Orange baby.
xoxo
Kell
PS Check out these studs from the freshman boys basketball team.
