Columbia Falls High School students share why graduation matters

Columbia Falls High School freshmen and sophomores filled the Little Theater earlier this month to listen to anonymous essays written by students. Graduation Matters club members read the essays out loud for the second Speak Out, a program to encourage underclassmen to find their voice and decide for themselves why it’s important to graduate.

One boy wrote that his grades started to slip after working at a job for two years to pay for lunch and a car. His goal was to become a business owner one day so he learned to balance school and work so that he would be able to graduate.

Another boy thought he had to change to be cool, so he smoked pot and drank every day. One day, his dad caught him and told him not to follow the same path he did. So the boy stopped smoking. Since then he has received sports achievements and scholarships and is looking forward to graduation.

Another essay told the story of a boy who took care of his younger brothers while his drug-addicted mom was gone for several days at a time while they lived in Spokane. He was 14 at the time and missed 96 days of school. Later he moved to Columbia Falls where he finally felt accepted. He fought child protective services to stay in Montana after his father went to jail. His advice was to “never give up on yourself.”

One of the essays was about a girl struggling with self-harm and anorexia while being bullied by classmates. One of her teachers acted like a mother to her and got her help.

“I shouldn’t let others opinions hurt me,” she said in her essay. Her advice is to realize that “a lot of crap happens in high school,” but ignore that and “be you.”

Another girl found strength to continue going to school after her dad died freshmen year by talking to a high school counselor and using study hall to improve her grades. She felt confident after asking for help.

“Teachers here aren’t out to get you,” she wrote. Graduating was one goal she could do for herself.

One girl was disappointed to transfer from Columbia Falls High School to a school in the South. She was shocked when her new school expected excellence in everything, especially academics, but the sports teams didn’t always win. She said Columbia Falls High School makes sports seem more important than academics. Her advice is that graduation is essential to future success and high school isn’t just something to get past.

Another boy wrote that he was 4 years old when he was told he needed speech classes. In kindergarten his speech impairment got worse, making teachers think he couldn’t read or do the same level work. But, he chose to prove them wrong. In high school he took the hardest classes and achieved straight A’s. He earned a position on student council and joined Graduation Matters to help others know they’re important. His advice is to not listen to the doubters, but instead graduate for yourself, “because high school does matter.”

One girl wrote that she attended alternative school, which requires a weekly minimum of 10 hours. She missed too many days at the regular school because she had to take care of her parents. It was difficult to carry on, but she did so because going to school was the only way to be herself. She learned that “anyone can fall behind,” and the alternative school helped her stay on track to graduate.

Another boy’s father had been a drug addict since before he was born. His only strong father figure, his grandfather, died. Despite this he achieved a 3.5 GPA and wants to graduate because he doesn’t want to be like his dad. He wants to do a better job of being a father and husband one day.