On Thursday, May 16, I walked down Rosary’s stairs, overlooking the green lawn of this small and beloved campus. During this walk, I began to reminisce about all the memories I had made in this little area of Fullerton.
A 7th-grade girl once sat in her math classroom, hearing the cheers and screams of the navy-skirted Rosary girls from St. Juliana’s during Red and Gold season. She was thrilled to know this was the school she chose to attend in 2 years.
As I continued down the stairs, I saw the Karcher Center on my right, empty and quiet. This was quite a magical place, since it could transform from a holy place of worship to a musical chair battle arena during rallies.
The girl, now in 8th grade, sat at her desk during the Covid-19 era, looking up YouTube videos of Royal TV featuring Clash of the Classes and various sports rallies. She watched in awe at the school’s energy and how fun the rallies looked. She couldn’t wait to be on those bleachers.
On my left was the music room, Room 5, to be exact. I saw a group of freshman girls sitting in a circle, enjoying their last moments with each other before class ended. This scene felt familiar, almost like deja vu.
In her freshman year, the girl walked into her musical theater class after being on Zoom for the first few months of the school year. The class of seven enjoyed each other’s company since they were at an age where they still behaved like kids.
With my car keys in hand, I passed by Maurice’s booth and said, “Have a good day!” He replied, “You too, Puga!” I thought about how much I would miss the welcoming smile I was greeted with almost every school morning.
The girl excitedly ran up to her school security guard during the summer between her junior and senior year. She proudly held up a wallet with keys attached to it and said, “I can drive now!” This meant a lot to the girl since the security guard had been asking her if she had attained her license for the past three months.
As I passed all the senior parking spots, each one unique and containing a piece of that person’s personality. I looked past the cars and saw the gray fence that lined the parking lot. I never liked those fences.
Every day during the first semester of her senior year, the girl walked through the gate in the middle of the school fence to meet her teammates for cross-country practice. Even though she hated that fence, it made her happy knowing she was going on a run with her team, the best part of her day.
My car was a couple of steps away as I clicked the unlock button on my keys. I passed by the park that I’ve run around more times than I can count. A tear slowly crept down my cheek as I thought about how much I’d grown throughout high school.
When the girl was little, about ten or so, she sat next to her best friend on a grassy, uneven turf, watching her friend’s little brother play a soccer game. The little girl turned around and saw a parking lot. Curious, she asked her mom, “What school is over there?” The mom replied, “Oh, it’s an elementary school and a church.” The best friend’s mom chimed in and said, “There’s an all girls high school behind it too. It’s called Rosary.”
