An Annual Letter to the Graduates of Frederick High School (2020)

For this year’s annual letter, I would like to speak directly to the class of 2020. With the exception of my cousin’s daughter, Azlee, I do not know you. I am guessing you do not know me either. A Frederick High School graduate of 2002, I assume my name is not spoken of anymore. I am confident my name has long been painted over in the backstage area of the theater. No one but a forgotten corner of YouTube remembers our “Tom Green” videos. Time has erased who was student body president during 9/11 and how those leaders rallied a town together at Bomber Bowl when football was not an option.

But it is that tragedy which gives me the most direct line to you. 9/11 was my senior year of high school. Thanks to the Oklahoma City Bombing when I was in the 5th grade, I knew of the worlds’ evil tendencies. 9/11 was different. It stole my innocence and did so on the eve of my release into the real world. All of a sudden, every institution in my life was thrown into question and I questioned with an unimaginable ferocity. I still do. As I stood on an empty football field, surrounded by classmates, religious leaders, and teachers, I knew the whole world had changed. Earlier in the week, I collapsed under the weight of what had occurred when our marching band played the “Star-Spangled Banner” in the hallway, but standing on that field trying to…