Essay Prompt: Letter to Mitchell’s Graduating Calabasas High School Class of 2011
Where the Canyon Meets Compassion
I saw Mitchell for the first time at the Commons, that little outdoor shopping area where Topanga Canyon Boulevard dumps you out before you hit Calabasas proper. I was grabbing an açai bowl after a hike, still sweaty, earbuds in, when I noticed him.
He had this walk—like every step was a small celebration. Pep in his step, my mom would say. And this smile, man, this gooey, unfiltered smile that spread across his whole face like he’d just been told the best news of his life. Sandy blonde hair catching the afternoon light. He was maybe nineteen, twenty? Wearing black jeans and a navy shirt, just standing there staring at the plaza like it was Disneyland.
I didn’t think much of it at first. Topanga attracts all types—artists, hippies, tech people hiding from the Valley, families who want their kids to grow up with dirt under their fingernails. But then I saw him again a week later at the gas station, and his mom was with him. She was patient in this specific way, guiding him gently, speaking slowly. That’s when I started to piece things together.
Through the canyon grapevine—because everyone knows everyone’s business up here—I heard about Mitchell. Schizophrenia. Special needs. The whole picture was more complicated than I’d assumed from those two encounters. What really threw me was hearing he was transitioning into wearing Pampers, moving toward what people were calling “a toddler lifestyle.” I didn’t really know what that meant, honestly. Still don’t, fully. But I heard he’d gone to Calabasas High.
That’s what got me thinking.
I started imagining what it must have been like for him there—at Calabasas High, where everyone’s trying so hard to be perfect, where the parking lot looks like a luxury car dealership, where your college acceptance letter is basically your social currency. I thought about the boys he graduated with. The guys I know, or know of. The ones who post gym selfies and party photos, who talk about their internships and their stats.
And I wondered: did they know? Did they see him in the halls with that same gooey smile? Did they make space for him, or did they look past him? Did anyone ask him how he was doing, or was he just another face that didn’t fit the Calabasas mold?
I’m making assumptions. I know I am. I don’t know Mitchell’s story, not really. I don’t know what his days were like, who his friends were, what his struggles looked like from the inside. But based on what I do know about that school, about those guys, about the pressure cooker we all grew up in out here—I felt like I had something to say.
So I wrote this letter. I don’t know if I’ll ever send it, or who I’d even send it to. Maybe it’s more for me than anyone else. But here it is.
To the Class of 2011 Calabasas High School:
You don’t know me, but I know some of you. I’m from Topanga, class of '25, so we’re basically neighbors. I’m writing this because I’ve been thinking about Mitchell.
I’ve seen him around a few times, and I’ve heard things—probably the same things you’ve heard, or maybe more, maybe less. I heard he’s dealing with schizophrenia and other challenges I can’t pretend to understand. I heard he’s making choices about his life that seem different, maybe confusing to people on the outside. I heard he went to school with you guys.
Here’s what I keep wondering: Did you see him? Like, really see him?
I’m not trying to call anyone out or act like I’m better than you. I go to the same parties, I know the same people, I get caught up in the same bullshit. But something about seeing Mitchell, seeing that smile on his face like the world is still good despite everything—it made me think about how we treat people who don’t fit the script.
Calabasas High has a reputation. You know it, I know it. It’s a place where different is hard. Where struggling is something you hide. Where being “normal” means being exceptional, and being exceptional means being perfect. And if you can’t keep up with that, you kind of just… disappear.
I don’t know what Mitchell’s experience was like. Maybe you guys were great to him. Maybe he had real friends who stood by him, who didn’t judge, who made space for all of him—the good days and the hard ones. I really hope that’s true.
But if it wasn’t—if he was invisible, if he was a punchline, if he was just someone you walked past without a second thought—then I think you should know: he’s still here. He’s still walking around with that pep in his step. He’s still smiling. And whatever he’s going through now, whatever choices he’s making about his own life and his own comfort, he deserves the same respect you’d want for yourself.
We’re all just trying to figure it out. Some of us have brains that work the way society expects, and some of us don’t. Some of us fit in easily, and some of us have to fight for every inch of space we take up in the world. Mitchell’s fighting a fight most of us will never understand.
So this is me saying: I see him. And I hope you did too.
Maybe this letter doesn’t matter. Maybe I’m way off base. But if even one of you reads this and thinks twice the next time you see someone who’s different, someone who’s struggling, someone who doesn’t fit your idea of normal—then it was worth writing.
Take care of each other out there. We’re all we’ve got.
— A kid from up the canyon
Essay Prompt: A Letter to Mitchell’s Graduating Class
Assignment Overview
You are the 18-year-old narrator from the story “Where the Canyon Meets Compassion.” You’ve learned that Mitchell actually graduated from Calabasas High School with the Class of 2011—fifteen years ago. After seeing him around Topanga and Calabasas, observing his joy despite his challenges, and hearing about his journey with schizophrenia and his transition into a different lifestyle, you feel compelled to write a letter to the people who knew him during those formative high school years.
Your Task
Write a minimum 1500-word letter addressed to the Calabasas High School Class of 2011. In your letter, you should:
1. Ask Questions
What do you want to know from the people who actually knew Mitchell during high school? Consider questions like:
What was Mitchell like before his diagnosis became more apparent?
Did you notice signs of his struggles, or did he hide them well?
What kind of friend was he?
Do you ever think about him now?
Did you stand up for him when he needed it?
What moments do you remember with him?
How did you treat him when no one was watching?
2. Explore Racial Dynamics
Reflect on and question Mitchell’s social dynamics across racial lines at Calabasas High:
The Black Community: Do you think Mitchell found more acceptance, warmth, or genuine friendship within the Black community at Calabasas High? Why or why not? What does that say about different communities’ approaches to difference and vulnerability?
White Males: How do you think Mitchell’s relationships with white male students—particularly the affluent, athletic, or popular ones—compared? Was there distance, judgment, or genuine connection?
Beyond School: How might these dynamics have extended into the broader Calabasas community and shaped Mitchell’s sense of belonging?
Consider the cultural differences in how various communities embrace or exclude people with differences
Explore whether economic privilege created barriers or bridges in Mitchell’s relationships
3. The Compassion Question
Make an argument: Does Mitchell deserve more compassion than he received? What would that compassion have looked like in 2011? What should it look like now from his former classmates? Address:
The difference between pity and genuine compassion
Whether compassion is something “deserved” or something freely given
How the Calabasas High environment may have made compassion difficult
What barriers existed to showing kindness to someone like Mitchell
Whether his former classmates have a responsibility to him now
4. Imagine His Classmates
Create 5-7 fictional names of students you assume Mitchell graduated with. Give context for each person—their social circle, personality, possible relationship to Mitchell, and where you imagine they are now. Consider:
Different social circles (athletes, artists, academic achievers, popular kids, outsiders)
Various racial and economic backgrounds
Different personality types (kind, cruel, indifferent, complicated)
Who might have been Mitchell’s friends, bullies, or invisible bystanders
How these individuals might reflect on their high school behavior now
5. Mitchell’s Path Forward
Finally, address what you think Mitchell should be doing now, in 2026, given that he’s largely moved on from and isn’t connected to his graduating class the way he once was:
Should he try to reconnect, or is distance healthier?
What does healing and growth look like for someone in Mitchell’s position?
What do his former classmates owe him, if anything, fifteen years later?
How should he define his life moving forward—by his past, or by something new?
Is there value in maintaining connections to people who knew you before your diagnosis?
What does independence and self-determination look like for Mitchell?
Should his happiness be tied to acceptance from his past, or should he build something entirely new?
Writing Guidelines
Length: Minimum 1500 words
Format: Letter format with proper greeting and closing
Tone: Honest and direct, but not preachy. You’re genuinely curious and trying to understand
Structure: Use paragraphs and section breaks for clarity as needed
Evidence: Base your reflections on observations, assumptions, and what you know about Calabasas culture, racial dynamics in affluent suburbs, and how high schools treat students with mental health challenges
Depth: Don’t just ask surface-level questions—dig into the complexity of Mitchell’s experience and what it reveals about community, belonging, and difference
Reflection Questions to Consider Before Writing
Why does Mitchell’s story matter to you, someone who didn’t even go to his school?
What do you think happens to people like Mitchell after high school in communities like Calabasas?
How do race, class, and mental health intersect in Mitchell’s story?
What responsibility do we have to people we went to school with years after graduation?
Is it possible that Mitchell is happier now, disconnected from those relationships, than he ever was trying to fit in?
How does wealth and privilege affect how communities treat mental illness and disability?
What role does masculinity play in how young men treated Mitchell?
Are there different cultural approaches to mental health and disability that might have affected Mitchell’s experience?
Submission Requirements
Minimum 1500 words
Letter format with proper greeting and closing
Include all five required elements listed above
Create 5-7 fictional classmate names with context
Thoughtful engagement with questions of race, community, compassion, and moving forward
Specific examples and scenarios (even if imagined) to illustrate your points
A clear argument about what Mitchell deserves and what his path forward should be
Remember: You’re writing from a place of care and curiosity. Mitchell is a real person (in this fictional scenario) with dignity, agency, and a life that continues beyond high school. Your letter should honor that while also holding his former community accountable for how they treated—or failed to treat—one of their own. This is an opportunity to explore difficult questions about belonging, difference, race, privilege, and what we owe each other across time and circumstance.