75 - UEHLING HIGH

UEHLING HIGH

13 ⅜ x 10 ⅛ inches

(The exterior of Uehling High)

Uehling was the closest town to our farm. Uehling High averaged about fifty students. Sadly, my carefree, innocent days came to an end in high school when a teenage prank left long-lasting wounds.

Thirty-four years after my high school graduation, when I climbed the stairs to the top floor of the old, abandoned high school, I vividly felt the sting of those old wounds. As I stepped over puddles of water pooling on the wood floors of the study hall, memories flooded my mind, reminding me it was my responsibility to cleanse my dark memory.

The demolition of this building in 2006 became, for me, a symbolic ending of a past pain. The sun glare seen on the window symbolizes a need to focus on the Light when revisiting any dark areas of the past. Living in the present, while being an observer of the past, creates an opportunity for growing stronger.