For many alumni, Dana Middle School represents a safe space for students. From its warm and welcoming staff to its cheery and passionate teachers, it is nothing short of the perfect place to grow as an adolescent. 

Like a snow globe encapsulating a beautiful moment in time, the school functions as its own little world and has a dynamic of a large family. Holidays, or even the weeks approaching them, were celebrated through classroom door decorating contests, teachers sporting Santa hats and red shirts, and the last day before break was commemorated through watching Christmas classics. There was no large bout of anxiety for finals and grades; the last day of the semester was about movies, hot chocolate, and hugging best friends because two weeks seemed so long back then. Middle school did not spare a glance to college or adulthood, but focused on their students as they were in the present. Its education went beyond academic needs: from an appreciation of nature found in the annual outdoors retreats to lesson plans geared to developing a student’s self-confidence and public-speaking.

Now that I’m approaching the transition to adulthood, I’ve been classifying things I hold important to me and discarding those that are not from my life. I never expected my existence in junior year to become a two-by-two inch set of pixels on my teacher’s screen, but 2020 has given me more opportunities to learn about myself than I could have ever asked for. Without a doubt, I look back on the past longingly: the hours spend in Mr. Anthony Dima’s seventh grade English class, furiously typing away at my Chromebook to capture my ideas; the times when my science textbook was 70% pictures and I didn’t have to fear developing a hernia from lifting it; Mrs. Janna Sanchez’s infectious peppy attitude, which made the most boring health topics engaging and amusing; the sense of dry humor the math department collectively shared; and many other quirks about the school that taught me more about human connection and different personalities in the span of three years than my entire life up to that point. 

Contrary to how popular culture has framed it, my middle school years were amazing, and they were instrumental to building the woman I am today. I wouldn’t change any part of my experience there, even the embarrassing moments, because they have only made me more okay with myself and my mistakes. As you grow up, there are less safety nets, less ears who want to listen to your problems, and less trust amongst everyone. In that way, it is not just the school itself that I miss, but who I was at that time, and how much care and love I was shown. Dana was a home for me, and I am truly thankful I was always welcomed with warm arms when I needed them most. I can’t say that remote learning has been easy. It is challenging academically and emotionally, it’s devoid of the enthusiasm and humanness otherwise present in a classroom setting, but like all situations, it is another learning experience we have to adapt to. 

I do miss the memories I made at Dana, but for now, the school remains a time capsule for me, embodying the innocence and sincerity of childhood. I will never be able to go back, but I have fully embraced my growth and development since then. I am no longer a child, but that does not mean I can’t hold fast to the values the school enriched me with.