We can talk about how much Fairport means to us and how it has created the people we have become today, but until you have lived here and truly experienced this community, you will never know.

You know what they say, though: "Once a Raider always a Raider."

1. The Garbage Plate is always there for you.

Fairport Hots, there's nothing to even describe the feeling other than 'Thank You.' Thank you for being there during that one heartbreak, the time when we won sectionals... no, the many times we have won sectionals, and lastly, the nights we went "out" and were drinking. Let's be real here, you helped the hangover for the next day too. It might look like the grossest thing you have ever seen, but we look forward to coming home from college and walking in to get a plate.

2. The Claw.

Where did your money go for lunch at least twice a week? Clawson's, unless it is taco salad day ... then the game changes so fast. The food is just so good, and after finals week, we always treated ourselves to an ice cream cone sitting outside and talking about the horrible Chem exam.

Can I have a round roll and a soft chocolate ice cream cone please?

3. Teachers care.

After being in college for almost two years, I have never heard anyone talk about previous teachers the way I can talk about mine. Every teacher in Fairport has impacted all of us one way or another, whether it was learning how to transition into college, finding our passion for whatever we are good at, or just a friendly face to see in the morning. The teachers in this community have given me such an amazing base to build off of, and I wouldn't be half of the person or student I am today without them. Most of all, thanks for making coming to school something we looked forward too... most days.

4. Can you say titles?

Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Cheerleading, Baseball (at one point). It doesn't matter when it was, but they are there. We have the Section V titles, and there is nothing we can do about it, other than still keeping track of where our school stands. And this year, FVC brought it home nationally. We kill it, and there is nothing better than being a part of a school with such amazing school pride.

5. Crush Rush is real.

Basketball season at Fairport High School is a good time of year, think of it as March Madness for high school. When we play Rush Henrietta, we plan out the student section, get there an hour before tip off, and from there, let the cheers begin. Depending on the play, it may be getting the cheerleaders to do "alligator" or distracting the other team while they are taking their foul shots by saying the "ABCs." We are low-key jerks, but hey, what can we say... we win at least, well, most times. Its not only basketball where we have a very large crowd; you name the sport, we will have a cheering section there. Especially at the boys volleyball game against McQuaid Jesuit High School. We won that one too.

6. Brotherhood Sisterhood Week.

A week that I will never forget. A week where everyone truly comes together as a community to help each other out. There are not many words that I can use to describe it other than "brotherhood sisterhood week, hey!" It is a week that the Fairport community truly focuses on the acronym C.A.R.E: Civility, Awareness, Respect, and Embrace. We have assemblies all week, and one I had the privilege to be a part of, along with watching the man leaders.

7. We have the largest support system I have ever seen.

Our community has been through more than a handful of losses. Still, to this day, we will never understand why we continue to lose ones of our own, and why it has to happen to our friends, the ones we grew up with, the ones we shared the most memories with. It is truly unbelievable. But not only is Fairport our home, it goes deeper than that. Angel Hill is our home, not because that is our place to go when something bad happens in the community, but it's safe there. All differences aside, we go to Angel Hill, and something is different. You get an eerie feeling, but it's not bad, it's comforting. You know that no matter what, everyone will be there for you. We lost the five angels, Blake Cognata, Hannah Metzler, and one from my graduating class, Connor Trapatsos, and among the administrators, the hill was where we felt the safest. Those aren't the only students our community has lost, many others have lost their lives in our community, and no matter what we do, it will never get easier. We say we are a Fairport Family, and we really are. No matter what, you will always find your way back to your Fairport Family.

8. The best friends are forever.

We are told that the friends we made in high school never truly last, but they were wrong. I have a friend group that I can always count on. People who I text first with my problems and the ones who tell me what I need to hear when I need to hear it. From the eighth grade, to my sophomore year in college, my friends from Fairport are my rocks.

Fairport, thank you for giving me my best friends, but most of all, the best community to grow up in and make many memories. I will always find my way back home.