The night I arrived at The Island School, while we were discussing the semester ahead of us, a teacher said: “It’s not going to be perfect, but it’s going to be worth it. You will get out what you...

Twelve years of school later, one wacky senior year, and I have made it. My last year of high school has honestly plucked me right out of everything comfortable and forced me to take ownership of my future....

“Are you wearing Birkenstocks with Smartwool socks?” a snarky upperclassman girl asked me in third hour World History. Red in the face, I admitted to the eighth sin: diverging from what was East’s...

For me, swimming has been something I have always done. Since I was six years old on the Orchard Hills Swim Team, swimming has defined me. Despite my love for the sport, I was never a difference maker...

At the beginning of high school, I quickly realized that things were going to change, but being someone who doesn’t adjust to it very well, I was forced to be open-minded and let life find its way for...

I always thought that I’d swim in college, but then I decided not to. My decision to not continue my swimming career wasn’t because I had stopped loving the sport, it was because I had begun to...

Everyone goes through different phases throughout high school. The rebellious phase towards your parents, and the sad phase in the middle of November anxiously waiting for Christmas break are only two...