Growing up in Aspen, I have always felt a strong sense of community. As it is a small town, many people know each other and it is hard to walk into town without seeing at least three or four people that we know. More than just this small town community, the AHS community is even stronger, at least for me as a student. I have felt this the past two years, but in my opinion it has become very prominent in the past two months.

Our school has always been very enthusiastic about sports. In fall, football home games are the primary social events in most high school student’s calendars. In spring, it feels as if most of the 500 some students make signs and cheer on our lacrosse team. This year, our enthusiasm was brought to a new extreme when the boy’s lacrosse team made it to states. The excitement in our school was at a level I had never felt before, with cheers and high fives throughout the hallways for days after the big win. A spirit bus, along with many carloads full of students and parents alike carted people to Denver to watch AHS make school history.

There was even a sense of community for the students who did not choose or could not accompany the team to Denver. The night of the lacrosse game, the eight high school Aspen Santa Fe Ballet school dancers, including myself, were at our final dress rehearsal for our show, which took place the next day. Backstage, we crowded around a single iPhone, watching the game in between our dance numbers. When we saw the final play that won the game, our excitement and enthusiasm was hard to contain. We jumped around backstage and whisper-yelled, celebrating as quietly as we could.  Although I was not actually at the game, I felt as if I was part of something bigger, and part of a group that includes our whole school.

Only about a week and a half later, the beloved AMS fifth grade teacher Kelli Schenk (often called Mrs. S by her students) passed away. Many AHS students either had her as a teacher or known her as an avid sports fan who was always cheering on her daughter Dara (and other members of the team) emphatically from the stands. The day after her passing, the school mourned together and the sense of community was felt strong again. Whether students were smiling and sharing their best Mrs. S memories, or quietly mourning her loss together, the school was together as one unanimous group.

Although not every single students had known Mrs. S, almost every student was affected in some manner, whether it involved comforting their friends or even just observing the loss from the sidelines. On Friday, May 22nd, many students participated in one last Broncos Friday, a tradition to honor Mrs. S in which students wore jerseys of their favorite sports teams. It was a touching tribute, and again brought out the feeling of a group that is bigger than just a few individuals.

In the time that I have been in high school, I have found that it can be easy to slip into feelings of being alone and occasionally feeling isolated, but every time I begin to feel like this, I soon am reminded that I am part of something bigger and more important. Our school, though small, has tight bonds that are hard to break. Although there is certainly some separation, there is a ubiquitous love and togetherness that underlies even the petty drama and going-ons of high school.