New Beginnings

I’ve been thinking about our eighth graders a lot this week. They’re almost done at the Bartlett and in a few months they’ll be heading off to high school. 

High school is one of the most important experiences you will go through. You will change your ideas about a lot of things, you will begin to see things on a larger scale, you will meet new people and probably know those people for the rest of your life. 

A quote from Charles Dickens is approbate to describe the period you are entering:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

High school is a chance to explore and learn who you are and become who you want to be. 

It is a chance to start over - to find friends who will genuinely support and care for you. It is a chance to find your group or groups and fit in. 

High school is such a big experience - so many people, so many challenges, so many directions to go in - it can seem overwhelming -  but it’s not. You will rise to the occasion. You will find friends, you will move on from old relationships, you will move between groups and find the people who will help you become the best version of you that you can be - and you will help your friends do the same. 

It will all work out in the end. There will be scary days, disappointing days and days you wish would just end, but there will also be days of passion and glory and achievement, days you will remember for the rest of your life. 

High school is a big step, but you’re ready (even if you, maybe, don’t really feel ready). 

In a few weeks you will leave the warm and comfortable environs of The Bartlett. Your elementary and middle school experience is done and now it’s time for the next step. 

Take a deep breath and keep moving forward. You’re ready.