I pass by so many people everyday

Class rep elections are in full swing and it’s a type of competition I’ve never quite experienced before.  Coming from a much smaller day school [we had less than ½ the number of students in my grade], the culture of “elections” was very different.  

At Andover, since there are proportionately more people, more people run as well.  I estimate there are at least 30 kids running for class rep this year in my grade.  The larger student body also means it’s harder to get to know everybody.  I find myself seeing people, but not knowing who they are, or even if they’re in my grade [I admit to having a poor “age” reading radar.  I honestly struggle to differentiate an 11th grader from a ninth grader].

This election, whether I win or not, is a reminder of how nothing worth having comes without struggle.  I’m learning how at Andover, nothing is going to come easily.  I have to work for every ounce of anything I want.  I have to finish all my homework to get sleep [or risk getting a strike if I wake up after lights out to finish homework].  I have to time manage in order to participate in sports and excel academically.  I have to leave my dorm and walk 5 minutes to get food.  These elections are teaching me this valuable lesson of how nothing is going to come easy. It is encouraging me to get to know more people. There are 220 people in my grade, and I need 125 signatures just to qualify to run in the election.  I need to know over half my grade.  

Yesterday was the first official day to begin collecting those 125 signatures and I have until Wednesday to do so.  When I first learned that I needed 125 signatures just to qualify to run, I immediately began freaking out.  In my head, I was thinking, how in the world am I going to meet 125 NEW PEOPLE?  HOW AM I GOING TO GET 125 SIGNATURES??? Forget my public speaking skills if I can’t get 125 signatures.  

Yesterday, I found out how real and possible it really is to get 125 signatures…to know half the grade. I got 65 signatures from ½ a half a day of collection since I didn’t start until 12 PM.  That means I’m more than halfway done and I only collected for a span of only 4 hours.  However, these numbers also signify that throughout the day, I pass by more than ¼ of my grade. And there was actually one kid who got 140 signatures in one day starting at 7 AM!

This lead to realize how many new people I could know and meet in one day.  For that one candidate who got 140 signatures, that means he passed by at least 140 students in 9th grade yesterday [or on any given day].  I probably pass by everybody in my grade everyday, but when I reflect on how many of them I actually know, there are far fewer.  I see opportunity in these numbers.  If I simply knew the name of every person I passed by in my grade on any particular weekday, then I would easily know everybody in my grade in 4 days.  The collection of signatures also made me realize how many people I walk by everyday, who are in my grade, whom I have never talked to.  It’s not too difficult getting to know everyone.  I pass by so many different people everyday on campus.  I simply have to set my mind out to get to know everyone.   

Opportunity is missed

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~Thomas A. Edison

It's more than the academics

Getting good grades is important.  Good grades are likely to be an indicator of strong organizational skills, hard work and dedication to the endeavor of learning and growing.  Nevertheless, I’m learning at Andover how grades do not represent who you are or how other people will see you.  It appears in middle school, grades were more “defining” to my identity.  It felt like I was known for my grades and my reputation was built upon how many A’s I got a term.  

Thus far in high school, it’s been very different.  Grades are far from defining anything, in fact, most of the time, academics onlys plays about 65-70% of a day.  The lasts 30-35% I believe is made up of who you are in the grade, what you do, and how you present yourself in terms of student engagement, the role you play in a class etc.  There are just so many more assets that are assessed and shape one’s reputation.  

I’m finding how important strong social skills are.  I’m running for class representative and I have not only to write a platform which is sent out to the entire grade, but I have to gather 125 signatures from my class of 220 students in order to even qualify for the running.  This process in itself is forcing me to put myself out there and talk to people whom I may not be familiar with.  And social skills I consider to be quite different from academic success.

This week, I’ve had 4 assessments and the funny thing was that the pressure I normally felt throughout my middle school years of test taking dissipated during these tests. I walked into tests more confidently and the ironic thing is that I probably spent less time preparing for them, practicing and trusting active studying and recalling.  I think it’s because I don’t feel the pressure of having to do well, which would otherwise risk my reputation.  

My understanding: It’s more than the academics that define who we are.  I am nurtured in an academic environment where there are more way to shine.  

[I wrote about this briefly in the past]

A respite in Time's momentum

Since coming to Phillips Academy last Tuesday, I feel that time has slowed.  I’ve only been on campus for 13 days yet it feels more like a month.  I can’t pinpoint whether this “slowed time” is a result of having a smooth transition into my lifestyle here at Andover or whether it’s because my days are a lot more packed with activities and to-dos.  

But I feel like time has slowed and I see that in a positive light.  My past two years felt like a whiz that I barely caught a glimpse of and I’m genuinely grateful for this slowing of momentum.  With the slowing of time, I feel I’m doing a lot more in a day. The time between the sunrise and sunset feels longer. Then we get down into the depths of the question, what is time and I’m lost on that. But each night, when I lie in bed and think about what I learned in class, what I did in my free time [a lot of the times it’s play tennis, hit the gym, or read] and how I maximized the day, I find myself listing a considerably longer list of small accomplishments. Today, I’ll probably be telling myself, you went on a run, finished your homework, took photos, practiced piano, played tennis, blogged, read Wall Street Journal, wrote and gave a dorm rep candidate speech, and vacuumed the room.  It feels amazing to accomplish this much in a day. I know time will increasingly feel like it’s passing by faster with each day, but for now, I couldn’t be more grateful for this respite.  

Photos I took today:

Overwhelmed by…resources?

I feel privileged.  I’m also grateful.  Tonight, the Addison Gallery of American Art had its fall opening ceremony, in which I attended.  My primary goal in visiting the Addison tonight was to finish up my art homework, which involved looking at the new exhibit Invisible Citings.  Perhaps this was not the smartest of ideas, as I was lost in a giant crowd of visitors who were also attending the ceremony as I was trying to finish up my art homework.  Nevertheless, visiting changed my continuously developing perception of PA.  

I feel fortunate and I am grateful to have both an art museum and an archeology museum right here on campus.  I feel obliged to use these resources I have on campus.  After taking a tour of Invisible Citings, I went to older exhibits in the Addison and explored some of the American art the museum actually owns. I was quite amazed at the varied selection of art: it felt like a mini version of the American Art Gallery of the MFA in Boston. The only difference was that this was right on campus.  After dinner, I walked over to the museum.  I didn’t have to drive.  It was convenient.  And leaving the Addison, I knew I had learned something from the Invisible Citings exhibition and even found two topics to research further.  

As a new student who has just completed her first week of official school, I’m overwhelmed by all that this school has to offer.  The resources here are beyond what I imagined, and I’m striving to take advantage of all of them during my upcoming four years.

Some artwork below on display at the Addison:

Elaine Reichek embroidery

Jeanne Silverthorne art

Being kind to myself and finding my inner peace

I was emailing my math teacher Ms. Currier from BB&N this past week, updating her about my transition to Andover.  She told me about her school year thus far and we connected about both our experiences in new places.  

New places are scary for me.  Especially since I left BB&N as an older student in the building (eighth grade), and now, three months later, I have found myself as one of the younger students in the community.  The throwback was so abrupt, I think that was one area I wasn’t prepared for.  In her email, Ms. Currier told me to work hard but she also told me to be kind to myself.  I am an avid supporter of the “work hard, play hard” attitude.  For me, I define that as when it’s time to study and work, study and work with all your focus and set high expectations when it comes to delivering results from the time spent studying or working.  Meanwhile, when it’s time to play, play hard.  Do not think about all the homework you did not finish and if you have finished all your work,  give yourself a break.    

Be kind to myself.  I’m sitting in front of Paresky Commons right now, in front of the sunset, observing the vibe and life that passes through 3 giant sets of glass doors into the school’s top

Sunset. 2/3 door to Paresky Commons

hitter when it comes down to votes for the best place to make friends, relax, and have a fun. I don’t like being a bystander.  I like to engage with my community and make the most of it. But right now, I’m finding harmony being a bystander.  

I’m learning through sitting on this granite ledge by watching others.  I’m noticing how many people actually eat dessert [which is way more than I anticipated), I’m observing when kids of each grade come (older students tend to come later), I’m observing the various styles of clothing people are wearing on a typical Sunday evening.  Heck, I could gather some serious big data sitting here every Sunday afternoon during dinner.  I’m relaxed and calm, a feeling I’m most likely not experiencing when I’m someone walking through one of these 3 doors to Commons.  For me, being kind to myself is finding a place where I can find my inner peace, as cheesy as it sounds, and exercise the feeling of not thinking about much, a rarity here at a busy boarding school.  I’m making time for myself.

So be kind to myself I will try.  I will slowly discover more places where I can relax.  Overtime I will find the places where I can relax and find my zen.  For now, as long as the weather allows, I will sit on the granite steps of Commons, observing the life around me.  For the first time after many hours of school each week, I will be someone not contributing to these stirring emotions.  

Sam Phil at sunset [w/ a little photo editing]

First Week at Andover

Wow, what a week it’s been at boarding school.  I moved into my dorm on Tuesday morning, had two days of orientation, and had 2 days of classes (I have a single in case anyone’s wondering). I met with my dorm three times and had two cluster gatherings [dorms makeup clusters and there are 5 clusters on campus].  

I’m amazed.  That’s all I can say.  In classes, I’m finding how I’m one of the few people from Massachusetts.  The people I’ve met have come from all over the world, though popular places are New Jersey, Texas, other countries, and California.  It is quite amazing.  Kids from all over the country and world coming onto one campus to grow together.  I’ve frequently had to ask people to repeat where they’ve come from because they’re from a town in another state. And it’s not just the people that amaze me.  It’s the support I’m receiving that also amazes me.  I have two extremely kind, relaxed, great advice giving prefects in my dorm and I have a senior who is my Blue Key and helped me through orientation. The peer support here at Andover is quite a beautiful web. It amazes me.  

I feel liberty.  What it means to feel free is outright defined here at Andover.  You set your own schedule, you make your own priorities, you determine when you’ll exercise, wake up, return to your dorm and study. You even determine how you want to organize your binders for every class.  Everything is on yourself. This allows for leeway but simultaneously adds pressure and responsibilities to each individual students.  For example, I usually head back to my dorm after lunch to unload my backpack of binders from classes I’ve already taken during the day or I wake up in the morning and go practice piano at the music hall.

It’s b i g.  There are almost three times as many kids at Andover per grade than in eighth grade at BB&N. It’s quite a shift.  I’m finding it harder to get to know everyone.  I’m fearing that there will always be people whom I don’t know but I’m striving to get to know everyone eventually.  

I’m learning a new academic culture.  I’m sensing something.  I’m not sure whether my notion is correct or whether it’s because the academics haven’t come into full swing yet.  I’ll share what I’m sensing: here at Andover, academics is important and empathically emphasized everyday, but it’s not even close to everything.  There are clubs, sports, meetings, social events, dance clubs to join, free time to walk downtown, concerts and shows to watch, time sitting on the great lawn etc.  Academics is not everything here.  It is important, but focusing solely on academics will not help me make the most of my time here.  

It’s just a snapshot. Hopefully, another week I’ll be able to dive more deeply into my emotions about Andover, but for now, I’ll leave you with this general overview.  

Summer 2017 Wrap Up

Time went by especially fast this summer.  In late July, I visited Yellowstone National Park, and yesterday, I just came home from New York City.  I suppose the two vacations being only a month apart made the summer seem to go by faster.  I wanted to do a list format summary of what happened to me this past summer, which sadly, has felt faster than any previous summer vacation.  I suppose it’s the anticipation of boarding school that’s keeping me on my toes. Anyhow, here I go with my list.

Reading

1. 1984 by George Howell
2. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
3. Crucial Conversations by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan
4. Thank You For Being Late by Tom Friedman
5. Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami
6. Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson
7. Wall Street Journal
8. Time Magazine

I began reading HBR’s Top 10: The Essentials just this past week, a project I’ve been aspiring to tackle for quite some time now after visits to the Harvard Coop.  

Weekday Life

1. Tennis

   

   Credit: Qiegang Long

2. Running
3. Walk to town and back
4. J’ai appris le français avec le Coffee Break French et j’ai pris des notes sur GoogleDocs [translation: I learned french with Coffee Break French and I took some notes on GoogleDocs]
5. Algebra 2
6. Piano practice
7. Arduino  [though I admit it was a half-hearted attempt.  I really had to push myself to do a couple projects from time to time]
8. Movie at night

What I Watched [TV & Movies worth mentioning]

1. Several Audrey Hepburn movies.  My favorites were Breakfast At Tiffany’s and Sabrina
2. The Man in the High Castle
3. The Last Tycoon
4. Wonder Woman
5. Ghost
6. Me Before You
7. Out of Africa
8. The Good the Bad and the Ugly

What I Listened To

1. Moon River
2. Summer by Marshmello
3. The Way I Are by Bebe Rexha
4. Enya, before bed
5. Know no Better by Major Lazer
6. Out of Africa Theme Song
7. Believer/Thunder by Imagine Dragons
8. Gold Dust by Galantis

Miscellaneous Interests

1. Boat shoes.  Never thought I’d see myself in them but they turned out to be my new go-to shoes.
2. Visors.  In the past, I wore baseball caps while playing tennis because I used to get sunburned on the top of my head.  This year, since I’ve spent less time in the sun, I’ve regained my appreciation for visors.
3. Bagels and cream cheese.  I’ve been loving that for breakfast recently.  Enough said.  
4. The word “wannabe”.  My dad uses it a lot in describing my dream career.  I didn’t know what it meant until this summer.
5. NPR's Planet Money podcasts

And there’s my wrap up of Summer 2017.  The two words I would use to describe this summer are fast and anxious.  School was my anxiety, and it starts tomorrow.  For the next few months, I’ll be posting from Andover.  I’ll be boarding and I’ll be adopting a new lifestyle.  I like to go into things having some background knowledge.  For this, I can only hope I’m prepared.

Life moves on too quickly.  

Credit: Qiegang Long