Liberty is a big school. As a freshman, you walk in and only see the massive concrete commons, the enormous parking lot filled with innumerable spaces, and the towering seniors that dominate the hallways with their booming voices and the fact that they all seem to know each other so well.

In other words, Liberty has a lot of big. That’s what makes the small so important.

As you become more deeply integrated into Liberty, you begin to see the tiny things. Each teacher has a little catchphrase. Each classroom has a poster on the wall that leaves you wondering. Each desk has a fun knick-knack, a remnant of students long gone. Liberty is bursting with layer upon layer of inside jokes, “presents” left behind by legendary seniors, and small insights into the personal lives of all our wonderful teachers.

These are the things that make Liberty a family. No other school could ever completely understand Mr. Level’s pencil sharpener, the math hall owl, or Mr. Cerveny’s slugs. Every classroom floods with inside jokes. Wherever I am, the quirks of Liberty continue to satisfy me and peak my curiosity.

I love the beginning of the school year because I can look around the room in wonder, excited to discover all the little things. But I also love the end, when I can laugh with all the people that I shared the past year with about all the jokes that made our class special.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for all the quirks that make Liberty more than just a place to learn: it’s also a place to be. To be a part of a family that combines students, staff, and our beautiful facility. I am thankful that Liberty is a place like no other not because it is so big, but because we can appreciate the small.

So if you’re new here and you’re worried that Liberty is too big for you to find your place, don’t, because by the end of our time together, our enormous group will be laughing and crying together because of all the little moments that we shared.