Blown Away

I started off as a seed, planted onto the ground of the Lower School playground alone, vulnerable. I sat on the blue balance beam as the hot sun shone down on me until another seed, slightly more grown, with its roots already poking into the ground, fell beside me. His name was Evan Evans. As the day progressed, more and more seeds fell beside me, each with differing levels of growth. Lauren Agpoon. Anna Wickham. Grant Burmeister. Slowly, we bonded, and as our roots grew, so did our friendship. As I grew, and many months and years passed, more and more seeds joined me to form all the blossoming friendships I have today, 11 years later. A lot happened in that 11 years, however I want to focus on how these people, these seeds, made me question who I was. Whether they know it or not, this group of people changed me. I, a frequent procrastinator, was surrounded by what seemed at the time like the most studious group of people on the planet. Now, after reading some of these posts it has become obvious that many of these people, if not all of them, are just like me, however at the time I felt pressured to fit in. I felt like I had to take the most challenging classes with the rest of them, participate in every club, every trip and most sports (they aren’t really my thing). I felt like I had to represent myself well in front of my peers because if I didn’t my bud would shrivel up and die, and the group would grow on without me. So, I took the hardest classes and forced myself to get good grades. I was in every club and organization imaginable. I tried every sport that I was allowed to join (football was the only one I couldn’t). It seemed so easy to just coast right through school not having to worry about what club meeting I had the next day, or the research paper that was due in 3 hours, but the group forced to question who I was; question if that life was the life I wanted to live.

In short, it is the life I want to live.

This has all been a long winded way of saying thank you. Thank you to all those who made me question who I was by just being yourselves. I owe so much to all of you, as you have each left your own impression on my identity that will stay with me for, well, only time will tell. However, as I head off to college I know that, no matter the school I go to, this impression will stay. You all have unknowingly set expectations for me both in college and in whatever career I end up pursuing. Expectations of success, perseverance, and happiness. Expectations that I hope to pass onto the friends I make wherever I land, just as you did to me.