These first six weeks have been more of a blur than I can possibly describe. After five days of tennis in one hundred degree heat, five days of backpacking through gorgeous wilderness, and four weeks of classes, sports, prefectship, and senior bonding time, I have never felt more apart of the school. Graduating in eight months, and leaving behind my sixty-nine fellow seniors whom I’ve come to know so well, seems, to say the least, a little unreal.
To give you an idea of the pace of life senior year, here’s a smattering of some of the extracurricular, scholastic, and social activities that I, along with many of my fellow students, have been involved in: in the past week, I have participated in my first flash mob (senior enthusiasm for life, channeled through dancing to Gangnam Style in the dining hall during lunch), played four tennis matches with my awesome doubles partner Rachel, jumped in the pool more times than I can count, hung out with my sophomore prefectees, volunteered a local elementary school, puzzled through Stephen’s epiphany in the slightly dense and overwhelmingly deep A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, written my first villanelle, contacted various organizations to learn first-hand about interest groups for my Comparative Politics class, conducted a Psychology experiment, used what I’ve learned in my Modern Mexico class to write my SAT essay, meditated and learned some yoga, spent time with my mom and sister, swam in the Pacific Ocean, eaten tacos in Ojai with friends, helped write and deliver a birthday card (illustrations, poem, and all) to a favorite teacher, cheered on musicians and performers of all classes at a coffee house, written drafts of a college essay, and much, much more.
Needless to say, senior year has been a little hectic. Between taking six classes, being captain of a varsity sport, mentoring six sophomore girls, applying to college, and enjoying my last year at Thacher with my best friends in the world, it can be hard to find time to sit back and smell the roses.
That being said, one of my favorite parts of this week was a Saturday night picnic at the Observatory (a ten minute hike, takes you up behind campus for a beautiful view of the valley) with all of the senior girls. Since we no longer live in a dorm together (as prefects, we live in the freshman, sophomore, and junior dorms with our prefectees), it’s hard to find time to come together as a group. We all chipped in for some delicious pizzas and salads, put on some freshman-year reminiscent t swift, and enjoyed a classic Ojai sunset together. All of the wonderful things about Thacher considered, the best part is definitely, definitely the people!