Splashes of Joy

On Friday, something tragic happened at Crescenta Valley High School. A 15 year old boy jumped off the roof of one of our buildings and killed himself during the lunch period in front of dozens of students. Teachers and administrators soon handled the situation by evacuating everyone to the front of the school, then down to our football field. Down there, we stayed for a couple hours. 3000 students in one, we were bound to talk. Details emerged and suspected names were tossed around. It wasn’t until later that night when we learned that the person was Sophomore Drew Ferraro. We had a three day weekend to calm ourselves and let the events sink in. Today we returned to school, expecting a very somber and solemn mood. What we came to was surprising. On each and every one of the 2000+ lockers in our school was a hand-written, heart-shaped note that read “You are loved”. Not only that, but in our homerooms each and every student received a hand written card by different members of the community. Everyone from 8-year old children to parents who have watched their 6 children graduate from our school. There’s a quote that says, “The difference between greatness and mediocrity is a series of small efforts.” The members of the community banded together to make a few small efforts to brighten our day. This is definitely a memory that will stay. To see how well we can band together shows just how strong we really can be. Rest in peace, Drew Ferraro. We all love you.