Schools all across the country have suffered many losses in just a short time, and it hurts the most when you are currently attending or previously attended a school that has suffered so many losses. My high school back in Louisiana, Slidell High School, has suffered four student losses and one faculty loss in just over a year. From an assistant principal to an upcoming graduate, I, along with many other Slidell High Tigers, have been mourning constantly since the end of the 2016 football season.
Cancer, murder, and a brain aneurysm took all five of these Tigers too soon. Without time to say our goodbyes to these Tigers, a great weight of sorrow was placed upon the alumni, faculty and current students during this hard time. All five Tigers were taken far too soon and very close to one another. As a school of only about 1,500 students, we formed a bond between the students and faculty. Everyone knows everybody, so when another Tiger has lost the fight to whatever it is that they are fighting, we all mourn together. It does not matter how far apart or how close we remain to our town after graduation because we are all affected by these losses.
Whenever a school has suffered from multiple losses in such a short time, the current and former community takes a drastic toll. However, when a school loses as many as Slidell High School has without any warning in this short amount of time, it is proven that life is short. What I can say is that our school motto is probably one of the strongest bonds we share together as Slidell Tigers: “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger.” This motto could not ring any more true for these five particular Tigers because they all died as Tigers. They will forever remain Tigers and shall never be forgotten.