One day while fitness walking and talking about the postulance of life — as one does when fitness walking — my friend, Benji Elkins, told me that he didn’t really think adults knew what they were doing. I wasn’t completely convinced until forty-five minutes later when, with 400 people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in one small stadium, a group of ten adults told us to “take our masks off”.
LM truly is a crazy place. However, despite all its faults, it has been our place for the past four years, and there’s something to be said about that.
LM has shown us persistence through daily Learning Center Link emails, ingenuity through the plethora of ways to skip gym class, and that “character counts” through constant grade-based evaluations. But, most importantly, LM has let us shine. After all, we are awesome, and when I looked around the crowded stadium that day — enthralled in the herd mentality that comes with an entire grade cheering on one kid playing football — I realized just what a variety of skills and excellence was contained within our ranks.
Just look at what we have accomplished this year. In the face of the rising need for equity, we organized demonstrations and birthed organizations like CREI to create discourse and address some of the issues in our school. We used town halls and social media to hold our school’s administration accountable and make a difference.
And, despite all the complications of the pandemic, we are ending the year with perhaps the most impressive list of achievements LM has ever seen. Our basketballers got their first district title since 1996. Our tennis players easily hit their way to become undefeated state champions. Our scientists achieved the first Science Olympiad state title in school history. Our resident lawyers came out with an undefeated Mock Trial season. Our runners and kickers brought us central league championships in both cross country and soccer. In short, we are kind of insane.
So, if you are a senior, just remember these crazy things you have done and are able to do. Remember this excellence and that you were a part of it. Bring all this success out into the world so we can create a generation of adults where Benji’s proposition does not apply.
And, if you’re not a senior, I don’t really know why you read this article, but you’re cool too I guess—and good luck at LM without us!
