Senior Reflection: Gigi Lannon
Driving home from school with my brother the night after his first fall pep rally is a core memory of mine from this year. I talked on and on about all the things that fell into place for pep rally to happen and all the little details that I added that he picked up on and complimented me for. After I stopped and took a breath, my brother said, “My friends think it is so cool that you’re my sister. I hope I’m just like you when I’m a senior.” I still smile when I think about this because all I’ve wanted is to set a good example for my brother and anyone else at Exeter who thinks I might be a good one.
As an underclassman, I looked up to the seniors who were confident and accomplished. During lower year, when a group of senior girls spoke out in protest of assembly about the Vanity Fair article, I aspired to be like them. They made a difference on campus, and standing on the lawn listening to them, I just hoped someday I would too. Hearing my brother tell me how awesome pep rally was and receiving compliments from staff and thank you’s from students gave me the confidence to think that maybe I did inspire people.
While I was by no means alone in the effort for fall E>a weekend, I helped create something in that moment. I am very grateful for Exeter because of the opportunities I’ve had to accomplish things on campus like pep rally, the snake dance, or helping with The Sexual Assault Summit. There are so many clubs and people who take part in bettering the community. Whether their impacts are unspoken or not, Exeter fosters leaders and I am grateful for the time I got to learn from them, especially my captains and proctors.
Another place I found purpose was captaining the V/JV squash team. Regardless of my mediocre skills, I tried to create a team environment throughout the season because squash is for the most part an individual sport. At the end of the season, one of the preps who had come to captains’ practice in the fall came up to me, thanked me for pushing her to try out, and told me how much she love she found for the sport. I had created something for someone and inspired a new passion. This was my experience as an underclassman, and I was finally paying it back.
The community at Exeter is kind and friendly and a large part of that comes from the strong connections between under- and upperclassmen. Every time I give a tour, people wave or smile at me on the path to the extent that parents and prospective students have commented appreciatively. The opportunity to be a role model has been very important for me at Exeter in my leadership positions throughout campus in the past couple of years. As a four-year senior, it has been rewarding to finally step into the shoes of the leaders that made an impact in my life.
There is a quote that reads, “People won’t always remember what you did, but how you made them feel,” and it sums up a lot of how I am feeling as I move on from Exeter. I hope to remember all the little moments and pockets of happiness I have felt at Exeter with my friends, teachers, and coaches in activities and during sports. And I hope that for the next generation, I have given some people moments where they have felt belonging too. I love Exeter because I have been able to feel belonging, succeed, join clubs, learn, laugh with my friends, and cry in the Academy Building basement after a bad math test. It is such a unique place to have spent four years and I am so grateful for all the little moments I have collected here.
