Juniors

On August 10, 2017, our junior year of high school officially started. I know what you're thinking. And you have a point. But, yes, we are still the Suavemores. In fact, I would argue that we must advance the Suavemore Manifesto at this stage in our lives now more than ever before. Think about it: you put every ounce of intellect and diligence into those three pre-calculus assignments as the sun began to rise on yet another Tuesday morning-- but you failed all three. You practiced just the right amount for that speech, you were the most prepared you've ever been, yet you still find yourself rummaging through your backpack, absentmindedly recalling the fabled squeal of, "You squished him with the Latin book!" whilst grasping for yet another quarter and muttering, "This cannot be legal." You were pretty sure you knew where Korea was on the map-- until you needed to know where Korea was on the map. That's one irreplaceable bonus point lost in space and time. Now, study sessions at Barnes and Noble leaving us gazing wistfully down the rolling hills and over the Saks Fifth Avenue towards the oasis of yester year. In these dark times, we have a choice to make. Do we let the winds of disappointment and failure extinguish the flames we worked so hard to nurture, or do we keep throwing wet pinecones into the fire, knowing full well the odds are stacked against us? The answer lies in this: although we became Suavemores because it was easy, we remain Suavemores because it is hard. The free responses that will be graded with unrelenting rigor, the literature reading that is not procrastinated but abandoned, and the world history short answer questions that may never receive full credit all threaten to drown us with the force of a tsumani.  Junior year may challenge our vision and our collective identity as the Suavemores, but junior year cannot change what began so far before it. Even as we look to the future and face each day with renewed courage and simultaneous dread, we cannot forget our past. And even as the waters threaten to consume us, we must learn to swim. Against all odds, we must return to the big table, no matter how many people are forced to eat lunch standing or sit outside in 20° weather. Each day and each challenge continues to alter our perception of the world and to prepare us for what lies ahead, but it is our past that grounds us, while at the same time allowing us to fly.  It reminds us that even as life changes, the Suavemores remain the same. One year ago, this blog began.