For her semester photo essay final project, freshman Sophia Lopez could have picked any topic and gone anywhere to capture it in images. She chose to return to her old elementary school—Gullett—and try to recapture the magic of its fall carnival. Her time travel adventure could be an excellent Tuesday Top 10, but we decided instead to make it this week’s Throwback Thursday because the essay took her back to the “7-year-old’s dream world” of her childhood days.

MEMORIES NEW AND OLD: At Gullett Elementary School on Saturday, Nov. 11, the school hosts its annual fall carnival, held in the parks and main playground. Everyone gathers around the games and the chatter becomes lively as people meander around, greeting old neighbors, new friends, and enjoying a day of fun, whether you’re a child or not. Adults create conversations with their children’s parents, kids run off to find their friends, and it seems as if everybody has a place inside this warm, loving community, at the height of the season when it’s no longer too hot and the trees have begun to shed their leaves. For students who once went to Gullett, including myself, the Gullett Carnival not only offers volunteering opportunities and a way to spend the weekend, but furthermore a way to look into particular past memories of childhood and their days as young students, stories so vividly intertwined with their growing up.

“I remember when Mrs. Gooch would always come around and tap kids on the head during the school song,” former student Bug De La Garza reflects. “I wanted to get patted on the head so bad because it meant I got noticed by the librarian, and I loved the librarian and I loved books.”

This is one of many students’ memories of their favorite moments at Gullett, all kept tender and close to the heart.

ALWAYS RETURN FOR MORE: Parents, friends and students wait for their tickets in the brightly decorated waiting area, a line that sometimes seems to draw on forever and forever, too. A part of me once wondered why the carnival was so crowded and why so many were eager to get in, until I finally came to realize the significance of this event. Kids keep coming, not just for the games and the treats, but for the promise of friendship and connection. Personally, I have memories of running around the playground on Saturday mornings to spot my friends, to paint our faces and have a day where we felt like we could really be true kids. It was nice to see everybody you know in a small community gather around and hang out together.

“I also remember meeting my Girl Scout troop, and where I met some really close friends who I love,” Bug says.

Her troop volunteered at the carnival for many years afterwards, creating lasting memories that, like countless others have experienced, drew her back to nostalgia.

A LOVE FOR PLANTS AND KIDS: When people—new to the school or not—come to Gullett, one of the most remarkable things about the school is all the gardens. They bloom up everywhere by the portables and the fields, and along the playgrounds as well. With all the decorations and the floral greenery, the carnival feels extra festive. It all contributes to Gullett’s warm and close-knit atmosphere.

“I really appreciate the amount of people that go and how much work is put into it,” former student Alia Dube says.

RECONNECTING WITH THE PAST: Most of the actvities are centered around the big playground. Children sit on the swings and try their hand at “candy fishing,” and here you can see them line up to get their Pringle prizes. Coming back to these events and the school, alive with so many warm memories of old friends and teachers and events, can really make this annual activity nostalgic.

“I really miss Gullett, because it’s way less stressful than high school,” former student Naomi Gostylo says. “I have lots of memories of the playgrounds, and the swings. I remember in third grade, when we made stories about Bubbles the clown guy, and we’d always draw horses and other drawings when we were supposed to be listening to the reading.”

ALL THE GAMES: It’s hard not to feel like you’re in a 7-year-old’s dream world with all the candy, prizes and booths. They have face painting, Pringle tosses, axe-throwing, bouncy houses…there’s so many things to choose from.

“The archery game is my favorite”, current student Dylan Lopez shares. “It’s fun to shoot arrows.”

A GLIMPSE INSIDE: The main hallway of Gullett stretches long and colorful, full of student’s paintings and the vibrant fish clay sculptures hanging in front of the art room. Here, the hallway leads to the gym where the cake walk begins. Many students who have come back to Gullett reflect on walking these areas with their classes.

“If I ever go inside the school again,” Gostylo says, “It would be very nostalgic, especially seeing the animals.”

ROUND AND ROUND AGAIN: One of the carnival’s main attractions for multiple years, the chair swing ride lets kids sit with their friends and spin up and down in circles. Parents watched with their kids with a smile on their faces. Children squealed and screamed and wanted to go on it again and again after they’d gotten off.

“I think the spinny ride was super amazing and fun,” Dube says.

WHO’S PICKING FAVORITES: A kid picks up a prize of a sparkly toy ball from the bin after getting a hole in the Pringle toss game—not a high enough score for a Pringle box yet! For children who come year after year, it’s easy to choose favorite games and head to them with friends.

“My favorite game is probably the Pringle toss,” Dube laughs. “I really like Pringles.”

NOTHING’S BETTER THAN FUNNELCAKES: In the small blacktop by the flower garden, food trucks, candy corn stalls and funnel cake stands are set up with picnic table for a break when people get hungry. Many visitors come here to meet up with friends and explore the other areas as well, but it furthermore serves as a perfect place for conversation.

“I think it [the gathering space] makes the school feel more lively,” Dube says.

THE FUN FAMILY EVENT: The community and beauty of Gullett is always what reminds people of nostalgia and old friends.

Two sisters wait in line for the balloon pop. Seeing siblings and families together at the school’s fairs is not uncommon. For some students at Gullett, and for those who have left, the school always remains a part of your mind. Pride is instilled in students, especially those whom have siblings and both remember Gullett’s events and its songs: Gullett is a place like no other place, we come each day with a smiling face…

All of these things piece together and become something comforting to reflect on later on. A large amount of kids have sisters or brothers that currently go there and that talk about their days and their teachers, keeping the memory alive. “Me and my sister both have funny stories about Gullett,” Gostylo remarks, “And you can understand where it took place because we both went to the school.”