Seniors Cross Off their Bucket Lists
By: Anvi Bhate, Aria Scannell, Andrew Yuan
While the Academy prepares for graduation, seniors are busily planning their bucket list of activities they wish to complete before leaving the Academy. As unchaperoned town trip opportunities open up, several seniors shared the must-try activities they have in mind and reflected upon their unprecedented experience of living through the pandemic during their senior spring.
After four strenuous years of academic journey at Exeter, many seniors wanted to use their senior spring as a time for relaxation. “I really want to spend more time with friends, take things more slowly and de-stress in general,” senior Noah Lee said. “I have started playing guitar outside on the front lawn on sunny days. I'm meeting new people and getting closer with friends and teachers.”
Senior Sarah Huang also emphasized enjoying the time she has left with her classmates and friends. “Everyone here always says, ‘What makes Exeter so special? It’s the people.’ I think by senior spring I definitely agree with that,” Huang said, “I just want to make sure that I’m connecting with people and having lots of fun together because I think we’ll never really have the opportunity to be all together like a community again.”
Senior Sarah Kang also hoped to spend more time with her friends. “I wanted to have more late night conversations on my bucket list. One night, around eight o’clock, after Asian Voices, Alexandria, Erin, Kendrah and I just sat down in front of the Academy Building,” Kang said, “We all just played music and talked about how our spring term was going. We were a bit sad because we were scared that we wouldn't see each other, but we also reflected on how much fun spring term has been. We eventually just started staring at stars to find the little differences in their glitters.”
Huang agreed and noted the fun memories she had doing activities with her fellow dormmates. “I've been playing lots of cards because obviously we all have to get creative with certain social distancing measures. Two friends came to my room last night and we are just sitting together, singing Taylor Swift songs and playing cards,” Huang said.
Senior Leila Herman also emphasized her excitement in doing fun activities with friends. Herman listed items on her bucket list. “Things like rope swinging and senior skip, and other senior traditions that we all look forward to,” Herman said, “Also, climbing on the room of the Academy building, where the bell tower is—every year seniors go up there and look over campus and take pictures.”
Senior Helen Lieberman emphasized the importance of rekindling old connections and getting meals with people you know for what might be the last time. “I’ve been making an effort to reach out to people I haven’t spoken to in a while to catch up and it’s been really gratifying,” she said. “Just getting lunch with people or going on a walk in the trails has been so nice.”
Senior Sarah Kennedy also mentioned the importance of connecting with others. “I don’t have much of a bucket list, I’d really just like to spend time with friends walking down Swasey and playing board games,” Kennedy said. “If there’s anything I have learned from the pandemic, is that it’s not really what you’re doing, but who you’re doing it with.”
Despite entering in a year greatly changed by the pandemic, postgraduate Mateo Rice was grateful for the connections he made in his time here. “Whenever I reflect on this year the first thing that comes to mind is my immediate friends and the people I’ve met. That’s what's going to be the thing that stays with me by far the most here,” Rice said. “One thing I will without a doubt cherish and take with me when I leave are the relationships I've built, especially with the other kids in [The Exeter] Inn.”
Some seniors have tried new activities with their free time. Senior Scarlett Lin joined Beat of Asia, a dance group on campus that focuses on dances choreographed to Asian pop music. “I have several things that I'm really excited about, and one of them is performing the dance ‘Like it’ by CLC,” Lin said. “I was really grateful just to be able to do this dance and join this group. Especially because this is my first time… dancing. Ever since performing on stage for the first time at Exeter during the dance showcase, [while] I can't really say I fell in love with dancing… I felt like the process as a whole was just my way of mental recharge.”
Senior Adia Allison described her experience trying costume design for the first time. “It's definitely my favorite class. So far we've done drawing renderings, which is basically a drawing of the costume that you envision any such character and probably done a lot of that and I've gotten better at drawing because of it. We've sown some different things like pillows. And our final project is something of our own choosing,” Allison said. “I'm choosing to repurpose jeans and make them into patchwork jeans, so I'm really excited for how that will turn out.”
As campus COVID restrictions lifted, town visits and local treats rose as some of the favorites among Senior Bucket Lists. “It’s always been a senior tradition to try every Stillwells ice cream flavor so I think I should start now,” Kang jokingly said. “I should be going to the stores a lot more. At the end of the year, all Amen seniors also go to the top floor that’s lit up and we just sign our names there.”
Trying out local restaurants after a year of town visit restrictions is among the top wishes on senior Hassane Fiteni’s list. “I’m really glad we can go into town. I really wanted to go to Swasey and see the sunrise and hit the water around 5-6:00 a.m. I think trying popular restaurants one more time will be awesome with many memorable places. Lexie’s, the fan favorite for everyone, Capital Thai, Stillwells, Las Olas: these restaurants have a rural American vibe, and I don’t spend a lot of time in rural America so I would definitely cherish this family-style dining in the next few weeks.”
Another thing many seniors are very grateful for is getting back with their sports team and being able to physically compete against other schools again. “Some of my favorite memories this term have been in the track team, competing in the last few meets of the season,” Herman said.
Some seniors expressed their disappointment at their limited senior spring experience with schedule changes and COVID-19 restrictions. “It’s been busy for me, honestly. Everyone talks about senior spring as things start to ease out at Exeter but I think because our break was really short, it felt very compact,” Huang said.
Fiteni noted the changes that pandemic has imposed for seniors. “Senior spring is kind of terrible, I’m not going to lie. I was a new lower and all this time I’ve been hearing all the excitement around Senior Spring as the best term and there was a slow buildup each term,” Fiteni said, “Everyone likes to talk about the Exeter summer camp at the end of the Senior Spring as a liberating experience but it all went away with coronavirus.”
“There hasn’t been a Spring Fling or the carnival this term,” Fiteni added. “I can’t visit Boston with my friends on the weekends anymore. I felt that my lower spring was the ‘Senior Spring’ because of how vibrant the campus was back then. Right now, a lot of seniors are mentally checked out and it has been a long year for us. Overall, Senior Spring hasn’t been that magical and honestly, I think these are some of the worst days I spent at Exeter.”
“My bucket list from prep year has completely changed. I used to want to study abroad, visit Boston, and do other things seniors normally want to do,” Lee agreed, “Right now, my bucket list is more like ‘get both COVID-19 shots and go into town to buy a burrito from Las Olas.’”
On the other hand, many students also still have things on their bucket list that they’ve wanted to do since they first got in. “I’ve always wanted to go rafting in the river,” Herman noted, hoping she could do it before she graduates.
Lin noted how the pandemic gave her the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation for nature around Exeter. “Even when the administration didn't open up the town, it really pushed me to explore what Exeter has to offer and really enjoy, really explore nature,” Lin said. “I would say senior fall, senior winter, and senior spring is when I fell in love with nature.”
“Just knowing that my time here is in countdown actually makes me appreciate [Exeter] more. I genuinely feel like I'm living 48 hours out of my 24 hour day, because of how much I am able to do,” Lin said. “I felt like senior spring was really a time where I challenged myself to still do well academically and maintain an official social life, but also explore things that I hadn't previously explored.”