What they don’t tell you about heading back to your high school after you graduate is how eerie it feels. You roamed these halls and sat in this cafeteria, yet it feels so utterly different. Especially when you’re here around seven p.m. When I attended Central Bucks West High School (CBW) I was a member of the literature magazine, The Phoenix. Every year there would be the annual coffeehouse (although we were dying to make a second one in spring that never happened despite our efforts). It is run by two faculty members and the students on the staff. This year I decided to attend the coffeehouse and listen to some of the poets as well as the various musicians.
When I attended the one this year, 2018, it hit me with how much was the same and how much was different. The cafeteria was designed similarly to the year prior—the snack and coffee bar on the left a mini “stage” for the front, and colorfully adorned paper table cloths. Yet, I felt odd in a way. It wasn’t my high school anymore, just my sister’s. But, what hadn’t changed, was the artists and poets. It was nice seeing my old friends from the magazine and seeing them put their all into the coffeehouse once again. The poetry was powerful. Some people try to brush off teenagers due to their age, saying they’re superficial and faux deep. But these poets poured out their souls. There were poems ranging from sappy love poems, to poems about social issues such as gun violence and police brutality, and even someone’s way of coming out. It really surprised me how in the media, as of late, teenagers have been spoken about in a pretty condescending manner. These students that were sharing their art really proved how wrong those people are though.
These poets and musicians reminded me of something though. I came from this school district and my own writing began to find its voice in these very halls. And, if I’m being honest, I used to try to write completely opposite of the place I knew. But, watching these students have this passion and to share it with their community inspired me. I want to make use of this in my own writing now. I don’t want to shy away from topics anymore that could make people “uncomfortable.” The topics that I mentioned are just a few examples of what I listened to, but it has inspired me to want to make my writing have meaning again. It makes me want to write about topics that have been present in the media because the media affects our perception of the world around us. And if my writing could help shed light on something that is prominent then I think I’m going to stop being afraid of what people may think and write about these “uncomfortable” topics anyway. Because writing something uncomfortable may be, well, uncomfortable, but it is vital.