After four quick years at Choate, I have finally settled in and gotten quite comfortable. Now I must leave. In the midst of my senior spring, I find myself at the end of this conveyor belt called high school. Indeed Choate Rosemary Hall is unique in many respects, yet the general system of high school that dominates our culture remains the same. A prepubescent fourteen year-old steps onto the machine eager for a new and sensational change in his or her daily routine. Side by side with the other prototypes, the teen latches on to the belt and endures a series of procedures. First, the prototype is stripped down and washed to become a blank slate. After this step, the prototype stops at several individual stations. At these stations, the prototype is infused with different methods, facts, and formulas.   

Like the first year of high school, the first section of the conveyor belt is generally straightforward and uncomplicated. Naïve and petrified, a student enrolls in the required core classes and acquaints herself with her fellow freshmen. Of course, the conveyor belt is sporadically adorned with pulleys that change the direction of the belt. According to each prototype’s shape and innate abilities, the model can choose to continue in particular directions. After the third form, a student is more likely to drift from the status quo established by parents and peers. Older students who have been exposed to the classes and extracurricular activities unique to Choate are presented with the option of replacing Thirds Soccer with Early Morning Yoga or Spanish 200 with Chinese 100. At a place like Choate this deviation is more than accepted, it’s embraced.

As the prototype persists further into the immense, complex factory, glitches can occur and the prototype can fall off the machine and get lost in the warehouse. During our high school years, puberty is the source of most malfunctions in the system, but the consequences are heightened at a boarding school. While the separation between school and home that day students experience can ease the trials of puberty because of parental support, boarding students at Choate lack this daily interaction with their family. But in this sometimes lonely road, there are unexpected benefits. The absence of every-day guidance and advice from family members forces a student to discover her own functional routine. Thanks to my experience at Choate, I have become more pragmatic and self-aware. I discovered that each individual has special study habits or social skills. Instead of basing my actions on what works for others, I ascertained the skills that work for me for academics, for athletics, for extracurriculars, for life.  

I arrived at Choate four years ago with an unusually heightened yet hidden self-consciousness. Because it was ingrained in my demeanor, I was unaware of its existence. In the middle of my Choate career, however, the hidden self-consciousness revealed itself. To compensate, I closed myself off in order to avoid being vulnerable. But now, as I’m preparing to leave—to exit the factory—I have, as Austin Powers would say, “found my mojo, baby.” I will leave this place with my same innate essence, but with the addition of a few new bells and whistles. On the conveyor belt, I was washed, customized and polished. As I stand at graduation, I will feel confident with myself and poised to enter the world post-Choate. Thanks to the self-awareness and confidence instilling in me along the Choate conveyer belt, I will be my full self instead of restricting myself out of fear of being judged.

Finally, my experience along the conveyor belt has taught me that compassion and loyalty results in success and prosperity. If you surround yourself with friends who value mutual respect, you will be happy. Furthermore, never be ashamed of yourself or hide behind the personality of another. You must be true to your own self for you to be happy or successful. Underclassmen: instead of hopping onto the conveyor belt and letting the mechanism move you, decide which direction you would like to pursue. Do not go through the motions and mechanisms of Choate merely as an observer: Instead, act with originality and intensity and seize all the opportunities presented to you here. These are the lessons I’ve learned in my four years here. Most importantly, seize the day with confidence. Through approaching life with vigor, assertiveness, and intensity, one can achieve more than he or she ever dreamed. Carpe diem!