Today in my Facebook memories, the post I made last year about Shayna’s scholarship came up. Thanks to Olivia Lorenz, one of Shayna’s best friends, and her mother Lisa, there is a scholarship fund that will give $1,000 to a deserving student at Lakota West who embodies the qualities and interests that Shayna had while she was here.
Last year I attended the event and helped present the award. That was a mistake. It was too soon. Maybe it’ll always be too soon. A couple of weeks ago there was a play at the high school. I couldn’t go. Tywana went and presented it with Olivia. Even though Shayna never attended the main campus (she went to the freshman building her last year), I simply cannot go back to that place. It’s hard to believe it was just two years ago, almost to the day, when we sat in that gym and she got her honors for being an outstanding freshman. She was 16 in a class of almost 600. She had her sites set on #15, one of her good friends. I remember her asking if she could go out with her friends for ice cream after the ceremony.
Seeing her peers going to prom, getting their honors, going on with normal teenager stuff is tough. I’m trying to look at the big picture, the soul plan, the growth we’re getting, the service we’re doing. That’s my higher self. But, the human part of me still feels cheated. This would be her junior year. She was so brilliant, so beautiful, so caring. She was so full of potential.
I listened in as the committee read the applications of the scholarship applicants. Again this year there were some very impressive candidates and the person who won was deserving. I’m grateful to Olivia and Lisa for setting this up. I’m glad to know that Shayna’s name is still known at the school.
