I wanted to write and tell you about my memories of Caleb.
First of all, I’ll write about when I first met him. We were in 4th grade and he was a new student. He was crying at first. When I went to ask him what was wrong, he said, “I just moved from Singapore and I miss my family and friends.” Looking back on it, that was not characteristically Caleb. The next day, however, was a different story. He was fine. I remember him being independent, a leader, a really good teacher, and super smart. He was great at everything he tried.
In 4th grade, chess was a BIG thing. I remember Caleb being really good at chess and challenging people to games. Our class had many chess tournaments. I remember watching Caleb and Aaron Ondra play chess a lot during those tournaments. It was a huge deal to win against Caleb in chess. Groups of kids would swarm around the boards, watching rapt with attention.
In 5th grade, I remember we both went to the auditions for the Angel Alert Christmas play. Caleb and I were asked to sing as Mary and Joseph. I remember we had to harmonize (which to me was advanced stuff, only for adults). After we finished singing, we both whisper-screamed, “NAILED IT!” and high-fived each other.
We were so proud of each other when the cast list came out. He was so good in musical theater. I was inspired by his skills. I remember him also being very interested in sports. He was so happy that his dad was coaching the basketball team. In gym, he was the best at dodgeball! He had a great aim and everyone would want him on their team.
In 6th grade, I remember we had a world culture project. We all were supposed to pick a country and present a poster with food samples. Caleb and Brandon Thomas did Singapore. I did South Korea. I brought a South Korean dish called bulgogi. Not many people wanted to try it; most people were getting traces of the tiramisu. Caleb approached my table, however, and seemed to really enjoy bulgogi. I let him have the rest and he quickly devoured all of it! I still joke about it from time to time.
I always thought about Caleb as an older brother figure in my life. As an only child, if anyone was my brother, it was him. We had a kind of sibling rivalry; we would constantly push each to do better. I remember that in Parkway, we had reading levels. Caleb and I used to compete for who could get the higher level. Once, I matched his, and Caleb encouraged me to do better. He is the reason I am in accelerated Math today. I remember coming home and saying to my mom, “Caleb told me that if anyone should be in accelerated Math, it was me. I am going to get into that class!” I was telling my mom that I can honestly say that if not for Caleb, I would not be where I am today. He helped me see the best of me and made me understand that I could do things I never even thought about. He even pushed me to get into sports! That was one thing I never saw myself doing! He just naturally had that effect on people. He showed them their potential and all the things they could accomplish if they tried and applied themselves. I will be forever grateful to him for that.
Caleb Walcott 