Letter to the Editor: "Thank you, members of the community, for all you have done to impact me."

(The following Letter to the Editor is from Decorah HS graduate Ross D. Gentry):

"Thank you, members of the community, for all you have done to impact me.

It is not one specific thing you have done, but the lives you have lived. 
I first moved here when I was going into seventh grade. By this time I had grown in many ways, but I still had a lot of maturing to do. As I reflect on who I am and who I want to be, I realize how lucky I am to have experienced my teenage years in Decorah.

Decorah has so much to offer: trails, scenery, history, Norwegian heritage, #1 rated high school in Iowa, variety, Luther College. All of these are great for the town, and we are very lucky. However, it is the people I have met and the relationships I have made which make me appreciate Decorah the most.

My senior year in high school, I participated in cross country, band, the fall production of "How I Made It Through High School," large group speech, intramural basketball, and my personal favorite, tennis. I have had the privilege of competing on the high school tennis team as well as coaching through Decorah Parks and Recreation. A plaque in my house reads: "There will always be a reason why you meet people. Either you need them to change your life or you're the one that will change theirs." I have met multitudes of people through these various activities, and while I am not sure I have changed their lives, I am sure they have changed mine.

In the fall I will be attending Marquette University in Milwaukee. In physical nature I will be alone, but mentally I will not. I will have everyone I have met in Decorah with me. Everything they and you have taught me. You may not have known me well, or perhaps we never met, but by living in Decorah we are connected. You have made a difference as a person and as a member of the community. So to everyone in Decorah, goodbye and thank you.