Six word testimonials

Passing through the halls student are surrounded by obstacles and infinite chatter.

But one thing remains constant. All of the walls are dressed with the amazing stories of our own students. Though, they are taken down and new stories are displayed, these stories still remain, surrounded by obstacles and traveling from class to class.

For an assigned project, senior English students were asked to share their six-word memoir.

The importance of these six words mean something unique to every senior within our school.

“There’s only one option left, Determination.”

Glancing over these words, it would be easy to pass them off as just a lazy senior, realizing that the 12th grade is a free pass to graduation.

Yet it spells out the triumph over surgeries and tears of depression that overtook Caitlyn Kissee’s summer.

She always had an extra bone within her hip socket, a piece of cartilage that was torn, and in turn her hip had to be completely reshaped.

Her doctor told her that this surgery “is one of the most painful surgeries that you can get.”

Kissee’s doctor went on to say, “With a hip replacement you’re getting a new hip. But we’re reworking [yours].”

After the surgery she did not feel like herself; she was locked inside every day wanting to be able to go out and enjoy the outdoors that she loves so much. Naturally, she started to feel down, and cry everyday as she felt locked, “in a cave.”

Soon, she realized that this is not what she wanted, so Kissee changed it right as another hurdle crossed her path.

The Friday before school started she was admitted into the ER for a complication with her kidney.

Soon, it will have to be removed.

With a six-month recovery ahead of her, she learned that you cannot just sit and wait for the world to be handed to you; it’s something that you have to go out a get yourself.

She learned perseverance and determination but, most importantly, will not let this become an excuse to not try harder than ever before.

Kissee hopes to return to her next swim season better than ever, with better times, and to achieve more than what she did last year. Through it all, Kissee found out things about herself that she did not know, and now knows what she wants to get into physical therapy in the future.

“Quiet in words, loud in mind.”

Situations arise that get out of hand. Whether it is physical or emotional turmoil, one thing matters- we are still here and fighting.

Many teens have gone through it, or will deal with bullying. Some individuals remain quiet and lash out in certain, personalized ways.

Senior Taylor Forbes speaks through her artwork, the way she puts rhyme into every stanza and every stroke of a pencil shows her despair.

Once her creations are displayed, they can be rejected by people asking, “Why you’d write this? It seems so depressing for someone so quiet.”

“It’s how I feel right now,” Forbes responds.

She doesn’t let the fact that she was bullied define her because she knows that if it didn’t happen she wouldn’t be the person she is today.

Instead she finds that bringing others up is the best way to deal with her own situation. She will send a friend a simple text at night to make sure that they can wake up the next day on a good note, or will go out of her way to do something special for them just to cheer them up.

“It might be dark now,” Forbes says, “but it will be lighter in the future.”

This mentality drives her every day. It drives her to keep pushing through the darkness and to bring others up with her.

“Everyone has a different story to their life,” Forbes said. “[It’s] something you learn. Even through just six little words, you can learn so much about another person that you never knew before.”

“Family rejection…. Daddy still protects me.”

Things happen between family members. It is natural to have conflicts between people, but sometimes things can get out of hand when a lack of honesty is involved.

It was many Christmas Eves ago when this particular family was at their grandmothers house for dinner. Unknown to the rest of the family, the second youngest daughter was downstairs with a step cousin, being sexually abused.

In tears, she came upstairs and the family left. It was a short time later that the family had discovered what happened in the basement on that Christmas Eve.

The situation became very tense with lots of tears, social services, and police officers involved.

The rest of the family believed this young girl was not telling the truth, and urged her father to “either leave your wife, or be rejected.”

He, to this day, has remained by his daughter’s side, by his wife, and by the rest of his children.

To this day, the middle daughter has social issues due to the rejection and the disbelief within her extended family.

The court case might be over, but there is still a battle within.

She has few friends.

Physical touch scares her.

She has been kept from saying final goodbyes.

And she believes that she is dirty.

Her father still has a hard time dealing with the fact that he has been disowned from his own family, but knows that it is for the good of his children.

The oldest sister sees the trauma that was placed on her sibling at a very young age, wishing that it could’ve been her instead of her little sister, but she finds amazement in the fact that she is still happy.

The older sister, the RV senior who anonymously penned this memoir, learned that, “It’s okay to be alone sometimes; that you can still be strong.”

Holidays are hard now for this family. They used to spend time with their extended family and now they are alone.

“You don’t always know the entire story of someone’s life,” she said. “We always talk about world peace, and no bullying… but I think [it’s] just [that] you need to understand, you don’t know everything about everyone. So treat them how you would want to be treated if somebody knew your secret. Understand that sometimes people come off as goofy or weird or annoying, but maybe they are trying to hide something.”

There are many more stories to be told, many more that cover the walls of our school and create uniqueness to every RV student.

It may be a swimmer going through physical pain and finding determination.

It may be an artist letting others see the pain that bullying places on us through the creativity of our hearts.

It may be an independent young lady being raised up with a trail of trials behind her.

Or it may just be an older sister, looking down at her scared younger sister with respect and reverence.

Six words can represent so much.

What six words tell your story?

*Story has been edited/revised 11/9/2021