Where has the weekend gone? How did I come to be surrounded by stacks of government class papers explaining democratization, a bursting laundry bag, even much-dreaded winter clothing: gloves, scarves and a down coat? It’s the last night of the last week of calm. Midterms approach and are preceded by a chaos of review sessions, last-minute note-taking, so many questions and full-day adventures at the library.
It’s a rainy afternoon and a chilly wind blows red and yellow leaves from the trees—signs of the beginning of autumn. From the window of my room in Canaday Hall, I check out the other freshman dormitories, Memorial Church, and students that come and go immersed in excited chat. I’m finally on the other side of Harvard’s gates and it seems as if, all my life, I’ve been preparing for this moment.
This afternoon finds me in the sweet seclusion of my bed, writing as I escape the unbearable heat of Miami summer days. I glance towards my desk, that wooden friend always buried by piles of books and pencils, stacks of college-ruled papers, random handwritten notes and reminders. Now the desk is clean, organized and dust-free, almost deprived of the fingerprints left by a long high school journey. The desk supports a diploma, framed pictures of friends and a box of keepsakes. From the corner of my room, a hanging graduation cap adorned with a golden tassel bears a sadness-drenched countenance. Everything weeps because I soon will be leaving, welcomed by a new room, a new desk, a new bed.
May has come full of pleasant surprises and reasons to celebrate. Only days away from the culmination of my high school years, it seems like I’m finally savoring the fruits of everything I planted throughout this journey.
Today I write from my Environmental Science classroom where I’m surrounded by birds, dogs, cats and hamsters that people find in the streets and bring to the caring hands of my teacher. I catch glimpses of nervous classmates who refuse to believe that AP exams are just two weeks away, of others who talk excitedly about plans for prom and graduation, and yet of others like me who have fallen into a state of pure reflection and anticipation towards the new paths we will be walking next fall.
Well, this month definitely has gone by fast. It seems that the closer we get to the end of the year, the faster the days pass by. Although I’m really looking forward to moving to New Jersey in June and more to starting college in September, I can’t help but feel nostalgic at the thought of saying good-bye to those friends and teachers who have made my high school experience truly unforgettable.
I hate to admit it, but once again things are getting pretty hectic in school. Senioritis is trying to creep in, and my classes seem endless as I anticipate summer vacation. It doesn’t help that we have so many events coming up, such as Senior Breakfast, Grad Night, award banquets, prom and, of course, graduation. It’s getting hard to properly concentrate on academics, but it’s the worst time to slack off.
The second semester has already begun, and it seems like all the chaos left with the year 2005. I am so much more relaxed now that I know which school I will be attending next year. It really is a relief when so many of your goals have been accomplished, although the prospect of going to Harvard means that I have a lot more goals to reach.
Today was the day. The Harvard website said the Early Action decision e-mails would be sent on Dec. 14 after 5 p.m., and I was just going nuts in the hours leading up to that moment. Time had never gone by so slowly. I couldn’t wait to read the e-mail, but at the same time I was scared. I knew that the second I read that e-mail, my life would be changed.
The end of the first semester is just around the corner. With midterms, scholarship deadlines, and colleges’ final decisions approaching, I need to do a lot of planning and organizing to keep things under control. I have already discovered how easy it is for life to get chaotic when two hands and 24 hours are no longer enough.
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