We Made It
As my four years at Exeter come to a close, it seems odd that this is my first contribution to The Exonian. This newspaper has been a constant in our lives every week, whether we spent Thursday lunch avidly flipping through the pages to find pictures of ourselves from the weekend’s events or discussing controversial student articles. It is the many underappreciated routines like this one that I will miss as I move on from Exeter. The gentle buzz and murmur of auxiliary breakfast, an endless train of students headed to Assembly, the last kid that runs into class as he puts his tie on, Friday night a cappella concerts, afternoon frisbee on the quad; all of these things make up our Exeter. We might have similar moments in college or later in life, but never again will be have these moments with these same people that we have gotten to know during our time here.
I suppose it is not original to say that what I will miss most about Exeter are the people, but this is entirely true. Every four years there is a new Exeter. The campus stays the same, with little updates here and there, but the halls slowly empty of familiar faces, and year-by-year, the Exeter we know will fade into the Exeter of the past. We four-year seniors have a seven year span of Exonians to recognize and relate to the Exeter of now. In knowing this, our Exeter is individually ours. The Class of 2014 has seen many changes, from term schedules to sleep schedules to rotating weeks. We have been through Halloween snowstorms, blistering springs and tornado warnings in hopes that someday we would make it to this week, the last week, the home stretch.
We have now sat for the last times as students of the Harkness table, been dress coded or dicked one final time and asked permission for OOTs or V’s, things we will never experience again. And now, as we stand on the threshold of something new and unknown, we may never see some of these faces again. So, to all of the people who have made our Exeter great: thank you. From the friendly custodians in the halls who are happy to strike up a conversation, to the science teachers who run with us on the field, to our fellow students who stay up with us late talking or indulging in all means of procrastination. It is the people Exeter draws and houses that make this place what it is and enable it to be our home. You have helped us deal with lost games and aggravating classes, ensured our safety and joy and kept us going to be able to find this moment where we can finally look back and appreciate all that we have seen and done in the past years.
When we leave the library quad from graduation lunch, it will mark the end of a journey. All the sleepless nights, crammed papers, extracurricular projects and schedule conflicts were worth it. We made it.