Although only two weeks in, these two weeks have been flying by and I feel like that’s how the rest of this trimester will go. English presentations on Romeo and Juliet, history essays about the Enlightenment period, and even more is happening in a rapid quick fire; it’s amazing how much has happened and how much I’ve learned in only two weeks. Not only is school going swimmingly, it is Gymkhana season. So far, there have been two gymkhana events with races and obstacle courses. The horses are all jumpy and restless to race, not to mention sweating buckets from the blazing sun (all of us). I’m not used to such heat during March and April, but it feels great. I’ve never in my life smelled orange blossoms, but they consume the entire Thacher campus.

Off campus, Ojai is as lovely as ever, whether for town runs or community service. This year, I’ve been volunteering at the Ojai Museum, helping setting up exhibits, doing paper work, or helping in the gift shop. There are plenty of volunteer options that one can do once a week or more. You can go to schools, an elderly center, the Human Society, and others. Another exciting recent happening was Casa Open House. Each dorm has an open house where everyone, boy, girls, even faculty families come to hang out and check out everyone’s rooms. At Casa, we had a caricaturist, a bounce house, and tons of food for a fun, fantastic night.

This trimester I’ve gotten into the swing of things and am ready for what comes next.