What do you say about the place that gave you memories that will last a lifetime? What do you say about the most formative years of your life? What do you say about the friends and family that loved you regardless of the circumstances? To give an answer simply, there’s not much you can say that will be enough, but I can at least try.
Reflecting on my time at Fresno Christian, I realize now that all the adults in my life that were telling me to enjoy being a kid were right. Time has gone fast for these past ten years at Fresno Christian, so let’s take a look back into how this journey began.
I left Kratt Elementary School at the end of 2nd grade. At the time, I was angry, confused, and unsure of what the future would bring. I was leaving behind all the friendships I had built and was going to a place of complete unknown. Ultimately, the decision of where I would go next was down to two schools, those being Manchester Elementary, and Fresno Christian.
Manchester Elementary was the path that, at the time, my parents assumed would be right for me. I’m pretty sure that their plan was for me to go from Manchester to Tenaya Middle School, and then to Bullard High School.
However, Fresno Christian had its benefits as well. My step-mom was a second grade teacher there, and I had often visited during days where public school had a day off, or when I was sick and my dad couldn’t stay home from work.
Ultimately, my parents decided for me to go to Fresno Christian for 3rd grade, and see where it would go from there. And the rest is history.
While I’d love to talk to you about Elementary and Middle School here at FCS, I find that I can’t remember much of it, and I don’t really want to remember it, if you get my drift. There’s a reason why people say they never want to go back to middle school. But high school is what this reflection’s really about.
Freshman year was the year of awkwardness. I began high school as a short, introverted kid who wore glasses. I joined leadership, which would shape my friendships and my future, even to a collegiate level. And while this was the year of trying to navigate this new world of high school academics, it was also the time when we were beginning to figure out who each of us freshmen truly were.
Sophomore year was the year of being carefree. I now understood high school, was still free of major responsibilities, I now had a good group of friends who I believed would last the rest of high school, and took on (and passed, thankfully) my first AP class. But through all of this, I still was unsure of who I was, while everyone else around me seemed to have an idea of who they were.
Junior year was the year of greatest change and trial. My grandpa passed away at the beginning of the school year, setting the tone of the upcoming year right off the bat. My friendships continued to grow and blossom, but some faded away, revealing to me that some people do not stay as your friends forever. I got my drivers license, I began guest writing for the Feather, and traveled to Europe. And while those things were incredible and I don’t take them for granted, I was still unsure of who I was.
Senior year began like any other, bringing the first day of school excitement and meeting back up with all my old friends. Except this time, we were at the top of the totem pole, and we were the kings and queens of Fresno Christian. That’s at least how we felt about it.
However, one glaring problem remained. While everyone else around me appeared to know who they were, I still did not know who I was. Sure, the typical answer of “You’re a child of God!” rang in my head, but that answer didn’t have any meaning to me if I didn’t truly understand it myself.
Senior year was the year of fulfillment. I actually joined the Feather, I experienced my final homecoming, my final formal, my final Sadies, and my final AP test. I’ve had opportunities that the average 17 year old wouldn’t be able to have. I traveled to New York with The Feather and had the most amazing time, enjoying the sights and sounds, while also getting to interview the famous journalist Joan Lunden, and ultimately I’ve become more outgoing and said “yes” to things that would’ve made freshman me cower in fear. I’ve made new friends and grown existing friendships that I hope will sustain me for the rest of my life. But more than all of those things, I’ve been able to partially see, with help from my friends and family, who Caleb Eldridge really is. And I believe that college is really going to fully reveal who I am, as there I’ll have to make decisions for myself. It seems that high school is going to have a happy ending.
And looking ahead, I see Vanguard University, where I’ll study Theology. The urban legend of Pastor E will live on.
Now, to thank all the people that got me to this point. Thank you to all of my teachers who have shaped my academics over these years of high school, however, I have special thanks for four of them.
Thank you to Stephanie McMullen, my AP English Language and Literature teacher, for teaching me how to not just write, but write wonderfully. I realized when I was presented with my first AP Lang essay a year and a half ago that I didn’t really know how to write, and now I feel confident in (almost) any essay prompt. And as irritating as the essays were to master, I believe that your teachings and strategies will play a huge role in my writing in the future.
Thank you to Kristy Higton, my Home Economics teacher, for your class being not only a class of fun and games, but a class where we learned practical things that will affect us for the rest of our lives. Although I wasn’t always good at everything in that class, I think I’ve improved in many areas of my life. Whether it was cooking, finances, or (unfortunately) sewing, coming to your class on Thursday was always one of the highlights of my week.
Thank you to Dorina Gilmore-Young, the co-advisor for the Feather and writing coach, for being someone to turn to for all my writing needs, and especially for going through all of my articles and trying to help me figure out how to write a deck for each one (I’m still not sure I can by myself.) Getting to school at 8AM everyday did not put me in the best mood, but I could always count on Dorina to have a smile on her face and give a cheerful “Good morning!” that could make my day just a little bit better. Thank you for being a cheerful presence in a room full of deadlines.
The last teacher I want to thank is Kori James, my APUSH teacher and Feather advisor. It is because of her that I am a part of The Feather, due to her encouragement in my sophomore year. It is because of her that I was able to go to Europe and New York, two of the greatest trips of my life. It is because of her that I began to become more outgoing, picked up podcasting as a skill, and learned how to perform an interview. The Feather has been a large part of my life for this last year of high school, and with it came the workload and deadlines. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve learned so much about the world, seen what it takes to be a functioning team, and seen what it’s like to win due to hard work. But all of this began because of James’s encouragement to join what so many disregard, and so I thank her for her encouragement, and seeing something in me that I didn’t even see in myself.
Now to thank my friends and family. Going into freshman year, I would consider myself pretty introverted. If you had told the freshman me that I was surrounded by as many amazing friends as I have now, I think I would faint due to the amount of social interaction that would be involved. A lot has changed since my introverted days, and now I can’t stop talking (for example, just look at how long this reflection is). And this isn’t meant to be a flex in any way, but I’m not sure I’m able to thank every single friend that I have, so I apologize if your name is not in this (I still care deeply about our friendship).
To Hudson Mott and Chloe McDonald, my friends who I don’t see every day, thank you for still being in my corner every single day. Both of you have made this year so incredibly special through your support from afar.
To Drew Russo, James Emerian, and Matt Tacchino, thank you for waiting outside the office before school to talk to me every single morning and driving to lunch together often. I’ll never forget all the random things we talked about and the laughs we had together on those car drives.
To Jacob Christensen and Kyleigh Baca, thank you both for being the best teammates, not just on the soccer field with Jacob, but throughout high school. And Kyleigh, thanks for allowing Jacob time to hang out with me, even though he’s your boyfriend. I’m glad that the custody schedule worked out.
To Georgia Karlson, Natalie Garcia, and Chloe Serimian, the growth of our friendship was not at all on my bingo card for senior year. And yet, I’m so happy that I got to know you all better. Thank you for being the people you are, because without you this year would have been a lot more boring.
And lastly, to Benson Elbert and Austin Kinzle, I’m so incredibly thankful for the time that we’ve spent together. I cannot wait to see what this next chapter, Vanguard University, brings for all three of us.
Thank you to my siblings for all the amazing memories and laughter, I can’t believe how much we’ve all grown since the beginning of my high school journey. Thank you to all my amazing parents, who are the most incredible pillars of support and love. Thank you to my step-dad for being the greatest source of laughter, to my step-mom for being the greatest source of kindness, to my dad for being the greatest source of strength, and to my mom for being the greatest source of sacrifice.
And finally, even though I already thanked my siblings, I need to specifically thank my little brother, Micah, the guy who’s been with me every step of the way. Even though we haven’t always been at peace with each other, there’s no one else EVER who I’d rather call my brother. Thank you for being who you are.
Well, now that all those thank you’s are done, I can make my final point. If you’re only going to take one thing away from this whole reflection, it should be this: God has a plan for you, so don’t rush. If there’s anything that I’ve learned from high school, it’s that my plans have never truly come to fruition when they’re in my rushed timing. It’s always been in God’s timing. Don’t try to make it through the finish line on your own, because God will put people in your life that will help you run the race. Enjoy the time that you have in high school, because like I said in the beginning, the adults are right, time goes by way too fast.
And if life makes you stumble, which chances are it will, remember the famous Superman quote, “You’re much stronger than you think you are. Trust me.”
This is Caleb Eldridge, journalist, somewhat podcaster, chaplain, and Child of God, signing off!
To read more Senior Reflections from The Feather, check out Senior Reflection: Kyleigh Baca or Senior Reflection: Delaney Meyers
