It's Been a Blast
Thank you Exeter, for providing me with people that believe in me more than I do in myself. From teachers to coaches to friends, I have met countless people here that encourage me to go beyond what I believe are my limits. Many of my friends have heard me babble on about Chemistry 319. I joke with them, remembering it as a "dark time in my life," "not a course but a lifestyle" or simply using it as evidence that "the struggle is real." I remember filling out the application for Chemistry 319 lower year, thinking, It'll be a challenge, but why not." Little did I know that by the end of my upper fall, I would have failed my first test ever, spent hours getting help from teachers and classmates, had too many late nights to count and talked to my teacher multiple times about dropping the course. Needless to say, it was much more of a challenge than I had anticipated. Apparently I wasn't much of a chemistry person. Even through all of my struggles, Mr. Hiza encouraged me to continue, insisting that I was capable of doing the work.
To be honest, the next term wasn't much easier for me. One night winter term, Ms. Hobbie, my dorm head and Chemistry 329 teacher, knocked on my door. It was almost midnight, but she came to visit me and hand-delivered my first chemistry test that I got an A on. As she showed me the test, she reminded me that I could do well in the course, despite my thinking that I was completely incompatible with chemistry. I was struggling so much through chemistry upper year that my goal for every test was simply to pass. I couldn't believe I could actually do well. There are few other places in the world where someone is so excited when you succeed that she comes to celebrate with you when she should be in bed, where people push you to continue through a challenge even when you yourself don't think you can make it to the end.
Through my four years at Exeter, I have lived through so much more than I could have anticipated. Staying up that extra hour to cram more biology facts into my brain. Completing that last shaky push-up during Coach Shang's 7 a.m. prep camp volleyball workout. Leaping off the bridge by the stadium. A year of chemistry. Without the supportive people I have met at this school, my experience would not have been nearly as incredible as it was. So once again, thank you to everyone who has believed in me through my four years. Exeter, it has been a blast.