News Reporter
Choate attracts some of the brightest and most enthusiastic students in the country, even in the world. We are here because we all are driven to learn and do something with our lives that will change the world. So we come here, and we work hard. We take six classes, play sports, and squeeze club meetings and community service into our social lives. And it seems that this cramming is the only way, or at least the best way, to learn, so that we can all go on to top-notch colleges. There is no doubt that students here take advantage of the privileges a Choate education provides. But if you ask a student how many books he or she has read since August, the answer would only include the required reading for English class. The only newspaper most of us read, if any, is The News. In fact, the subject of the first complaint I heard about Choate—besides the amount of work—was the “Choate bubble”: students get so absorbed in the Choate community that we end up isolated from the rest of the world, the “real” world.
I came to Choate because I wanted to learn enough about the world to make a difference in it. After experiencing a week of stimulating classes and attending meetings of just about every club offered on campus, I was ecstatic, optimistic, and a bit overwhelmed by all the amazing people and opportunities here at Choate. As a new junior, I figured that I only had two years to fit in a lifetime of experiences and memories; I might as well take advantage what’s here. But toward the end of that first term, my once subtle feeling of being overwhelmed, complemented by utter exhaustion, increased almost to the point of despair. I realized that there are so many things to do at Choate—perhaps there are too many. Or maybe it was only that I wanted to do too much. Or maybe it was that I simply just didn’t have enough time. But I found that, when taking six classes, going to practice, doing homework for six hours every night, and finding time to hang with my friends, I was always one step behind.
Back at home, I didn’t feel as though I was learning anything at school. It was only after I came here that I came to understand just how much I had learned about myself and about the world during those first two years of high school, even though I didn’t learn anything in the classroom. With very little homework, I had time to focus on my running, going to the gym several times a week. I was able to work at a bookstore on the weekends and read two or three books each week. I watched the news and read the newspaper and volunteered with international organizations. I realize now that we may get an education that competes with top colleges, but we cannot forget the learning and the experiences that take place outside of school. Our grades are important, but it seems that if we learn something interesting in class, we cannot further enhance or knowledge of the subject without sacrificing a homework assignment or a Friday night movie. We must reach out of the box and break this bubble we are trapped in. It is not only current events that we are ignorant of, but also the everyday aspects of life that could change us. At home, when we find something we are passionate about, we pursue it. Here, the urge to follow one’s passions is somewhat sacrificed by the need to take advantage of what is here. By linking Choate to the outside world, we can maybe expand the borders of our campus and stray a little from the typical Choate routine once in a while. When you go home this Thanksgiving, take advantage of what is there. Let something besides grades and dances shape your life. After all, it is only when you let the world change you that you can begin to change the world.
