S2
June 2, 2009
Seniors 2009
The Merionite
Aili Klein and Seth Pollack: representing the Class of 2009 as Valedectorian and Salutatorian of humor. Also, he can explain any mathematical question you have with boxes and triangles. No, really. Try it some day.” And Mr. McAfoos. “Who else would re-enact West Side Story to explain soap micelles?”
Aili Klein
College: Harvard College
Major: Chemistry Main activities: Ace’s Angels, Violin and Sinfonia Youth Orchestra, Kenpo Karate Favorite class: Senior Seminar. “Although various chemistry classes came in an extremely close second, I loved Senior Seminar because it was a free-form math class. We received problem sets and explorations, and then had to independently figure out the solutions. This class was truly, almost entirely discussion-based from start to finish. And with topics like Fibonacci numbers, formal logic, and probability distribution functions, it was probably one of the most challenging classes I have ever taken.” Favorite teachers: In no specific order: Mr. Segal. “He taught me to appreciate the intricacies of writing and language. I was challenged to think every day and although I was terrified of AP English Language at first, it was one of the best courses I have ever taken.” Mr. Brooks. “He made me fall in love with chemistry and made science one of my favorite subjects.” Mr. Kaczmar. “He has a great sense
“If I met my freshman self today--besides any holes I might inadvertently rip in the space-time continuum--I imagine it would be a rather odd experience. I’m not sure freshman-me would recognize me today. I’m older (obviously), a bit taller (thankfully), wiser (hopefully), and probably a couple decibels louder. When I was a freshman, I was painfully quiet. I probably could have painted on mime makeup and no one would have noticed the difference. Although I was comfortable with my friends, I could barely speak to people I didn’t already know well. I remember one of my first a cappella rehearsals that year--everyone was surprised that I could talk. I was surprised that I was talking. In many ways, a cappella brought the shy freshman out of the shadows and transformed me into someone more outgoing and confident. But I can’t credit it all to Ace’s Angels. For me, Lower Merion itself has been an environment that has helped me be comfortable with radically different people and interests. Whenever my parents decide to recount their high school days, I hear about schools with no orchestra, no theatre group, no interest in most extracurricular activities, no tolerance for people of different backgrounds or sexualities. Maybe it’s just the modern version of “When I was your age, I walked forty miles to school in pouring rain!” but I can’t help but think that I’m lucky to have gone to school here. Lower Merion isn’t perfect. For example, I know for a fact that the roof falls in when it rains. But looking back on my high school days, I’ve been pretty happy overall. Lower Merion, with all its college-mania, crazy scheduling, great classes, and incredible people, means a lot to me, and I’m glad that I spent the last four years here.”
vanced Spanish literature, which exposed interesting themes and higher level thinking. It was through this change that I began to make the leap from translating in my mind between Spanish and English, to critically thinking in the foreign language.”
Seth Pollack
College: Cornell University
Major: Biology- Genetics Main activities: Varsity Golf, Intramural Basketball Favorite class: APUSH with Mr. Cahill. “Rigorous and demanding, I learned more from this one specific course than any other. The transhistorical lines drawn across nearly five hundred years of history made each day more exciting than the next. Realizing the connections of the past to the present was the most stimulating, and at times difficult, endeavor in my four years of high school.” Favorite teacher: Señora Nemoy. “I entered the class as a Spanish student frustrated by years of verb conjugation and vocabulary lists. Señora Nemoy broke this pattern by centering the class on the study of ad-
“Those first two years of high school can be quite uninspiring at times. Once I was given more freedom and options to choose classes based on both subject and level of difficulty, I discovered new passions and interests. Every class I took these past two years has been a positive educational experience. I also took the time to participate in more extracurricular activities and school events during my junior and senior years. My parting advice to all the underclassmen would be to take advantage of all of Lower Merion’s resources. We are enormously lucky and privileged to have such a well endowed and high quality high school at our disposal. Some of my most enriching courses were chosen on a limb, and each and every class proved to be enlightening. From Film Arts to Senior Seminar to Physics E&M, my interests have broadened and expanded exponentially. Don’t be afraid to sign up for a class, club, or activity in a completely new subject or area. Take the time to capitalize on the school’s assets, and you won’t be disappointed.”
A brief, memorable, meaningful four years A few weeks ago, back when I went to school, I was gaming pretty ferociously on my laptop in English when my teacher, Mr. Kressly, listed some ingredients for a good graduation speech: brief, memorable, and has some meaning. I pondered this for a spell and realized that a solid graduation speech has much in common with a high school exp e r i e n c e. Brief. Memorable. Has some Mean-
Ben Furcht
ing. It doesn’t feel like I was in LM for that long, but those four years were absolutely memorable and full of meaning. I arrived at LM as an adorable little ninth grader: long hair, broken arm, born to skateboard. My screen name was skaterdude8891. I was such a kid! Let me tell you something: after the second day of school I cried because I missed my friends from Welsh Valley. They were together at Harriton, whereas I was stuck at Lower Merion: a stupid, yellow building where I didn’t know anyone and all I wanted to do was go home and skateboard, dude. I was a freshman in every sense of the word. But how about now? In four short years, with the guidance of teachers and classmates, I have taken the time to explore myself. I have found things that I really enjoy, and I’ve learned to think logically. Unlike my freshman self, I now know that I don’t know everything. I can find beauty in the simplest things; I just recently discovered how moved I am by the rebirth that is evidenced by the glamour of springtime. Unlike my freshman self, I’m not embarrassed to admit that. A lot of these changes were inspired by important lessons that I learned during my time here. Mr. Lynn
taught me to live in the moment. We’re constantly on the move, always looking forward to the next weekendfailing to appreciate the present by being focused on the future. Something worthwhile happens everyday, but we often let it pass unnoticed. Just slow down and enjoy yourself! Another lesson I’d like to share is that “we’re all gonna be dirt one day.” Thank you, Mr. Kressly. So it’s a little bit morbid, and hardly optimistic, but it really is true. I might regret telling you all that I cried the second day of high school, but hey- it won’t matter when we’re all dirt. The point is that a lot of things that we think matter really do not. That being said, and with that whole brevity thing in mind, we only have a short time to make mistakes and learn from them: don’t hesitate to mess something up. You can probably recover, and people will probably forget. So take a few seconds and look around. I guarantee you can find something to appreciate. By doing this you’re taking the time to enjoy yourself, and you’ll make the most out of high school. The lessons you learn will be tremendously useful in college and likely for the rest of your lives. Tell me that that isn’t meaningful.
S3
June 2, 2009
The Merionite
Seniors 2009
Reflections from our Editors-in-Chief Elizabeth Jacobs
Where are the chlorine spills? The duck thefts from the zoo? The intense presidential debates and homeroom in the morning and the gambling at lunch? Today you can still see where some angered senior threw the T.V. through the senior lounge window and where the administration built the wall in the auditorium lobby to combat the noise. LM is a different place than it was four years ago. When I reflect on freshman year, a few vivid memories stand out: eating lunch on Pennypacker field, sitting through eight 48-minute periods a day, checking MySpace during school, trekking to and from the Annex, keeping a paper record of my grades and hearing the Reggaeton undertones of Hips Don’t Lie blaring from Mr. Ries’s room. What were once integral aspects of the freshman experience are now alien to the class of 2012. Sure, some things never change—Mr. Brooks’s suspenders, sports spirit days, Mr. Kaczmar’s perfect chalk unit circles, Power Game, parking, the death
habit holds the stories of our test, pretentious AP English stu- our friends are. school and its former populations: dents discovering Jonathan Swift The building we currently inKobe played in the Main Gym; and writing modest proposals of artistic graffiti in the Tech Buildtheir own, Monsieur Contassot’s ing records the thoughts and imlove for Carmen—but it ages of students; the walls of the feels like the LM I am Players publicity leaving is very differcloset docuent than the one I enment years of tered. students who As our building passed through there. Lookdeteriorates and is deing further back, the boiler room, molished, it becomes planetarium, and clock tower clear that in many ways, it eternalize an era more familiar to defines us. Long lines in the LM alumni like Madame Allen. middle glass staircase force But here we are presented you to take alternate routes with an oxymoron: the eternalizato 5th period and develop a tion of ourselves in the physical hallway friendship with the structure of our building is tempeople you pass every day. porary. The building is being torn We’ve all accepted that the down in the next few years. So bathrooms don’t have toilets our legacy must live on in what and that different rooms in we have created: in Merionites our school feel like different (what’s up class of ’29!), in Playclimates because of the drasers programs, in Dawgma robots tic variations in temperature. and Ultimate end-of-year movThe places we choose to ies and LMSDtv broadcasts, in spend our free periods, be state championships and artwork it the Aud Lob, the Cafetelining the walls and ria Lobby, the cool senior projects. Carolyn Chou and Liz Jacobs: keeping it real since 1994 art rooms, the In the friendships we courtyard, the make that we carry Row, or the Merionite office, are out of this building and into the defined by but also dictate who
real world. Some alumni devoted so much time and energy to this school that they themselves are ingrained in the fabric of our school. LM will still be LM in a new building. The Drill Team will still dominate pep rallies, football games will still be poorly attended, and the Dawg Pound will still be awesome. Upperclassmen will still be wise (so be friends with the administrators and talk to people you don’t normally talk to and be nice to everyone and read all of these senior reflections and heed their advice). The library may no longer be a hot place where nobody wants to go, but I have faith in future generations of sociable LMers that it will forever be too loud please. I hope the class of 2009 has left LM with some great creations of our own that can be carried into the new building and integrated with the Tastykakes and Diet Coke in a new era of LM history. Change is an idea that’s been thrown around a lot lately, and it seems to characterize LM as well as anywhere. Change, but don’t forget where we came from.
From Players to Dawgma to LMSDtvbe proactive about everything, LM. Carolyn Chou Four years. For most of our lives we watched TV and movies and read books that depicted this epic, romantic place we call high school. For so many years we thought about being teenagers. We dreamt of football players and prom queens and all those cliché things that the world pretends high school is. We thought we would find the Corey to our Tapanga and go through high school with three best friends like Bridget, Lena, and Tibby. We thought high school would be glamorous and full of firsts, that our senior prom would be the best night of our lives, and that we would find ourselves— whatever that really means. But then reality happened. Some people found love, others kept friends. But for most of us, high school was just another four years. We grew up, and there were certainly a lot of firsts, but while the senior prom was fun, it was over before anything could even happen. And finding myself . . . well, I’m still trying to figure that one out. High school was not what I imagined when I was ten. It definitely did not live up to the large number of teen novels I read in middle school. But it was great, and while I tend to be a bitter and jaded person, I
really wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. If there were one piece of advice I would give to anyone first walking through those bright red doors, it would be this: stick your neck out. Stand up for yourself and be proactive about everything. LM offers so many options and can teach you so much in and out of the classroom, but you have to find those experiences.
out more than I should have. But my high school experience was rewarding because of that. Get involved—it will make the monotony of high school days worth it. There have been times when I walked out of school at 9:00 PM and smiled. It sounds crazy, but in those moments I really appreciated LM. It’s a place where you can push
Chou and Jacobs today. Yes, I had my share of freak outs (usually in the Merionite office), and yes, I drank too much coffee and stressed myself
yourself and do more than you should. It is a place that lets you find your own limits and doesn’t tell you to stop. During those late
nights, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of ownership of this place that is priceless. Own LM and own your experience here. Contribute something to the community and make your voice heard. Instead of complaining to your friend about the latest redistricting plan or grading policy, go speak up for yourself. Be an active member of the community and change it if you think it needs changing (which it inevitably always does). When I thought about writing this, I figured I would
write something bitter, as my conversations about LM often are. But here I am telling you that I had a great four years. Where
did this come from? Nostalgia, maybe, but also a serious place of gratitude for the good and the bad of this leaky, creaky building with its intense energy. People told me many times along the way to slow down, to do less, to prioritize. I never listened. There were many days I wished I had; there were just as many nights I walked out of here at 9:00 PM wondering what I was thinking and why I decided to take that extra class. But I always knew that I made the most of my high school experience and I think that’s why I can walk away with few regrets and less bitterness than is expected from an angsty, constantly stressed teenager. Lower Merion High School, for all its bumps and flaws, taught me to speak up and to take advantage of what was in front of me. Look around the hallways, listen to the announcements, go to a Players show, and read the Merionite (of course). Appreciate what goes on in this place and how talented the people around you are. But don’t take it too seriously. Because while you grew up thinking high school would be the best four years of your life, in the end it’s just four years. Four stressful, intense, sleep-deprived years, but four years that you can mold into whatever you want— don’t forget that. Make it memorable and make yourself memorable. It’s not like you have anything better to do.
S4
June 2, 2009
The Merionite
32 sports and 53 clubs - just do it! Don’t you hate it when old people are right? When Rod Stewart chants “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger,” I just have to say the same to underclassmen. It’s corny, but true, and there are so many things you can do to have a great time at Lower Merion. Get involved. Do whatever fits your fancy, and maybe even find something else you don’t
Dan Saris
know much about but think you might like. I’m not saying be a transcript “ho,” no one likes those. But find a place to have fun and be yourself. School activities are by far the best way to make friends and have a good time in high school. They are somewhere that you can meet someone you can have a great time with, but you might never see in classes. I played football and did student government, and the people I’ve met through both are great people. You can honestly go anywhere in Lower Merion and find some fun people to hang out with. Also, if you find a place where you’re really doing something you love to do, it’s a ton of fun in itself. And don’t say you aren’t interested in any of the clubs at Lower Merion. There are 32 different sports and 53 different clubs to choose from. I have a feeling you can pick at least one you’ll like. High school can be some of the best years of your life, and all you have to do is get out there and be active. If that’s the only thing I get across, fine. Go do something. I guarantee you’ll love it.
Enjoy high school while it lasts
I’ve always wished my life away. I want it to be summer. I want to go to college. I want dinner. Now, in a state of nostalgia, I just want to go back. This school, just like all things, has its own essence and feeling unlike anything else. To me, it’s cold (Mr. Burch’s air conditioning). It’s hot (every other room without air conditioning). It’s stressful (junior year). It’s relaxing (senior year). It’s quiet (the librarians mean business). It’s loud (AP stat was kind of a circus at times). It’s laughter, mumblings, high-fives, hellos in the hallways, smiles and scowls. And there is a slight odor. High school is just a bunch of single memories crammed into a mere four years. These memories, just like we as students, are scattered and sprawled out in a contained space, limited with movement, yet free to be. Just like memories, all we are is what we make ourselves become. A moment, and later a memory, can be good or bad depending on how it is subsequently perceived. Though at times I rolled my eyes at my peers, I’ve known these people for not only my
Corinne Zucker
childhood, but theirs as well. And that’s something you can’t find in people who we will meet in the future. Who knows if that’s good or bad. There is an understanding here that is so extraordinary and often neglected. The people we’ve not only watched grow up, but have grown up with – sometimes we know them, their families, sometimes we understand them more than they do themselves. I don’t really understand why people always call high school a bubble. Isn’t college just going to be a new bubble? And then on to the work bubble? When does it pop? If this isn’t “real life”, where is it, and when are we going to reach it? All these memories are as real as you’re going to get, and as real as you make them. I’ve realized I can’t keep wishing for the past and hoping for the future. Although this is eerily echoing “Mr. Lynn’s Speech #6,” stay in the present. To all the underclassmen, cherish your time at LM. I’m sorry this is unfortunately stereotypical, but it’s true – go out and do something. There is endless opportunity at LM, and if you go out and do something you love, you at least have the opportunity to not only find some new friends you may have never crossed paths with otherwise, but find yourself as well. I struggled through the timed twomile and aces races during preseason for soccer, and read over people’s words at layout for the Merionite. I’m sure you can find something to struggle through, too. And to everyone else, enjoy and recognize everything you’re doing in the moment, and how it is special, no matter what it is. If anything at all, just enjoy leafing through this issue of the Merionite. Enjoy the people around you, and notice their idiosyncrasies and peculiar quirks that make them who they are. Enjoy the boring classes and the interesting ones. You’re going to miss it.
Seniors 2009
A familiar scene
The biggest wake-up call in high school came when I realized that nothing was going to be new for another two years. As implied, this realization occurred going into my junior year and lasted for a good portion of that first semester. The experience of meeting the cool older kids was gone, I had met all of the kids in my own grade, and the new-shoe-feeling that I had as I adjusted to life in high school had worn out as my footprints meshed into those of the school. I was the average Lower Merionite – right in the thick of things. As many of you youngins’ may soon feel that you are right in middle of the High School experience and are dreading the process of testing and stress, I am sorry, but you are going to become extraordinarily familiar with your surroundings. Take the impending familiarity and run with it. Coming into high school as a small fish in a big pond is fun, but remain one and you’ll cheat yourself out of all the opportunities this school has to offer. I have had the time of my life getting to know the faculty and staff at the school. I have had an equally amazing time getting to know the student-body. These experiences and this familiarity have been worthwhile because they have come with me branching out and trying new things in high school. Whether joining the Volleyball team on a hunch Freshman year or applying for the Voice of the Aces Junior year, I always remained true to the notion of making the most of any situation. Bang Lower Merion for the biggest buck, so to speak, or else junior and senior years will be long and grueling. I must admit, however, that I sort of lied in saying new experiences stop once you become an upperclassmen, for senior year is an experience entirely unto itself. If anyone experiences Senioritis outside of his or her senior year, they are doing something wrong. If anyone does not experience Senioritis during senior year, they, too, are doing something wrong. Finally, in all that you do at Lower Merion, do it with pride and with thankfulness that you are lucky enough to be at one of the finest high schools in the nation, comprised of dedicated and intelligent people of all walks of life. Oh, and join the Volleyball team.
Isaac Smith
Learning to live outside the (imaginary) box
Emma Saltzberg Of all the bizarre tidbits I learned in Mr. Henneberry’s Western Civ class sophomore year, this one struck me
the most: school as we know it—bells, breaks, class periods all neatly divvied up and parceled out—was designed during the Industrial Revolution to mimic the way factories were run, to prepare kids for their future careers. The first time I heard that, I think I rolled my eyes and laughed. Yeah, man, that’s all this is—a factory. Pack us up, ship us out. Label us and make sure we fit into a box before we go. To my sophomore self, eager to be as jaded as possible, it seemed like the perfect metaphor for high school: each day a trip a little further down the assembly line, the boxes on that goofy rainbow-colored schedule just containers for our teenage years and our teenaged selves. But you know and I know that that’s not what it feels like. Day to day, high school existence feels more like that schedule we designed for the Merionite last year, the one for the article on
how none of the clocks here tell the real time and sometimes the bells ring for no reason. Those boxes are flexible. Some of those brightly-colored squares on your schedule end up meaning nothing to you; others represent subjects, teachers, classmates whose effect on you is disproportionate to the amount of time you spend together. Each one of us has to figure out how to bend and stretch the compartments we’re given into shapes that actually fit, because let’s face it: it’s pretty hard to fit human beings into predetermined boxes That doesn’t stop us from trying, though. It’s all too easy in high school to put people into boxes—not just other people, but yourself, too. It’s easy to limit yourself based on other people’s expectations. But don’t do that. Spread out. Be interested in whatever you’re interested in and you’ll be amazed at the people you meet who share your passions, no
matter what they are. Don’t limit yourself. Ever. The limit does not exist. And along with being fully yourself, not being ruled by fear or anxiety or that old standby, “peer pressure”, LMers of tomorrow, try if you can to do this: remember that just as you’re a whole person, so is everyone else you meet. They’re working through stuff just like you are, no matter how perfect they may seem on the outside. The girl next to you in math might be daydreaming—or she might be fighting off tears. You’ll never know unless you ask and—more importantly—really listen to the answer. Take care of each other, okay? This place can be rough sometimes. You never know who’s going to need a shoulder to cry on or a sympathetic ear—or who’s dying to tell a crazy story. So be nice. And don’t worry about the boxes. They’re bendable. And I just made them up, anyway.
S5
June 2, 2009
Seniors 2009
The Merionite
Ries and golf: why mosses and lichens are not useless Mr. Ries can be very wise after freshmen piss him off. The day before Ries’ plants and fungi test, a fellow freshman in my biology class couldn’t take it anymore and finally asked Ries, “Why do we have to know any of this stuff at all? When am I going to need to be able to identify mosses?” Everybody in my Biology class instantly lifted their heads from their binders. It was the moment we had been waiting for and we quietly thanked our brave classmate for saying what was on all our minds. Ries bludgeoned the student with a heavy 20 seconds of awkward silence. Then he got into his golf-
Chou Chou
stance. Our classmate turned red and we watched Ries line up a shot into the hallway. “Nope,” he missed his first swing and lined up another. Then he swung hard with his air-club and followed his imaginary golf ball into the hall. He stared for a while. “Why don’t we just learn how to play golf in school instead,” Ries finally said, “it’s more worthwhile than taking classes. You’re most likely to get that promotion if you play a mean game of golf with the boss. Right? Double true.” I don’t really remember what Mr. Ries said after that. Whether he went back and talked about what classes are really for or simply left us with the golf advice, I don’t know. The question raised, however, was an important one and through these last four years, I’ve tried to find an answer to that question. What is school for? Why do we take notes and wake ourselves up pasty-eyed in the mornings to take tests when the process can stink so bad? What helps is putting academics in context. What we learn is actually useless. Or at least the things we learn are useless by themselves. Periodic tables, rhetorical strategies, and anti-derivative formulas will not accomplish anything by themselves. They are only tools. In order for the random
Hellogoodbye High school has come and gone. Yesterday I was freaking out about a 48% in Moeller’s class, and freaking out at a certain someone for screwing up our freshman bio lab in Ries’ class. Today I know where I am going to college, and am looking back at my four years at Lower Merion. While at LM, I definitely participated in my fair share of activities. I was a writer and layout editor for the Merionite, a Player (not a playa), a pep band member, and an established JV track runner (not at all). I even joined the French Club the day I found out they were making crepes. I met and became friends with a lot of kids through my activities and courses, including some kids from that other middle school. I even met Ben, one of those WV kids, before he became a big-time track star, as we sat in
Sam Blum
the training room’s whirlpool and nursed our track injuries. All of these thoughts make me stop and think about us as a class. We entered Lower Merion as freshmen, with the same attitudes we had as eighth graders. We thought our little groups still existed, and, in a way, they still did. I was afraid to talk to certain people, and not interested in talking to others. We stuck to the familiar, and it was sort of a big deal to be put into a project group with someone you did not normally hang out with. As we moved on, these cliques slowly disappeared, and we realized that the lines we had drawn to make ourselves feel secure could easily and confidently be erased. This year I have spoken to people I never have spoken to before, and was sort of disappointed that I waited so long to do so. We are an incredibly accomplished and interesting class. I want to take the time to thank all of you for being so cool about group projects, for waving to me at the Farmer’s Market during frees, and for letting me cut in line at the Plat. If I learned one thing in high school, it is to enter a new environment with an open mind and a willingness to listen before making judgments. I feel I learned this at just the right time, before we all begin the next major phase in our lives. Thanks to everyone in the class of 2009 for being the best class to graduate from LM.
shenanigans we learn in school to seem useful, naturally a use must be found for them. Finding ways to apply rather than just memorize the stuff we’re taught can make school feel just a little bit more worthwhile. Going out to work in a lab gives studying for a plants and fungi test purpose. Writing rather than just reading makes English class more worthwhile. And actually finding ways to use math in business, music, or math club makes class go a lot quicker. The ultimate goal of education should be service, not knowing random stuff for the sake of knowing random stuff. But our classes often don’t honor that goal. Our curriculum glides over questions like, “what is this used for?” or, “how is this information being used now?” It traps us into thinking our schooling is just dead information we have to get through to get to college. This is what makes the school day dreary and sad. Investing time to find ways to apply knowledge instead makes the time at Lower Merion much more bearable. Finding the practical value of knowledge can motivate someone to pursue knowledge like how finding the value of a golf game with the boss can motivate someone to play golf. Wait, is that what Mr. Ries meant all along?
All together now
In trying to come up with a topic for this reflection, the first thing I did was try to remember freshman year. How else could I ponder how much I’ve changed without knowing where I started? Surprisingly, instead of an overall “freshman feeling” I only recall certain, strange details, like Larry D’s “I trust you guys” speech before our midterm, those painful “clock problems” in geometry, and those sunny lunchtimes in the courtyard. In a while, when I look back on senior year, I know I won’t only remember weird fragments of activity. Because for me, senior year was way more than details. Because in all those details—in prom, in the senior potluck, in all my classes—I actually felt…some togetherness. It may just be a shared set of complaints (no Weiner notes for Court Basics? Really?) or a shared anticipation of all those great seniorsonly events, but I definitely feel something. I’m not comparing the Class of 2009 to the seniors in movies that all suddenly bond together for the supposed “last hurrah,” but just suggesting that the difference between freshman year and senior year isn’t in the details. By the end of senior year, everyone seems to realize that much of what we’ve valued for the past four years really won’t be applicable to the next part of our lives. Boy, that’s a downer. But that strange sense of losing our childhood comes with the terrifying excitement of whatever’s next. And all these weird feelings contribute to that newfound unity because pretty much all of us can relate. So maybe this bond isn’t exceptionally meaningful or built on years of strong, grade-wide friendship, but hey, it’s nice to have. The feeling will surely fade after graduation, as everyone moves in slightly diffrent directions, but in the end of something as big as this, a little unity is just nice to have. Seniors ’09.
Jessica Scolnic
All the small things: dwell on the details
Some time in the third quarter of my junior year one of my AP teachers told me that I was the least relaxed student he had ever taught. I don’t remember the specific context of the conversation, but I will never forget that moment, nor will I forget the reaction I got when I interrupted Mr. Vinci’s class to tell him, and he started laughing at me in agreement. The least relaxed? Well, I don’t know about that. Yes, there were the days when I was stressed, the days when I cried. There were definitely more than a few nights when I did not sleep. There were the times I got home after nine and just did not know how I could finish everything I needed to do, the times I ran to the Merionite office for refuge, the times I wanted to quit Players. There was even the time my best friend wrote an article for the Merionite April Fools issue
Sophia Hirsch
making fun of my anxiety. I don’t mean to say that I had more to do than anyone else; it’s just that somehow, I let it get to me. The old adage “don’t sweat the small stuff” probably couldn’t be any further from my mantra. I definitely sweated the small stuff—the large stuff too. I always felt like I needed to do more, to finish things more thoroughly, and it always made me anxious. I stressed about activities just as much as schoolwork, maybe even more sometimes. On the night of any given Players performance, I could always be found backstage chasing actors with a pair of scissors, cutting the threads hanging from their costumes, even though no one but me would really notice them anyway. The thing is, looking back; high school really was not that bad all the time. I may have stressed about just about everything, but in the end, it was the little things that made it fun for me. High school is something that everyone has to go through, so I don’t see a point in complaining about it. You need to look beyond the stress and remember the little things. Learn to laugh at yourself and take things less seriously. I wish I had been able to do that. The same way little things stressed me out, little things made my high school years memorable. Let the little things make you smile. I cannot help but recollect the moments when I smiled.
The quintessential moment of working on The Imaginary Invalid— after weeks of stress finishing the costumes I had designed for the show—was jumping up and down barefooted on the tables in room 113 to the song “Light and Day” by the Polyphonic Spree. Moments like that eclipse even seeing my finished costumes on the stage. I think we all need to grasp those kinds of moments and hold on to them tightly. Instead of remembering stressing at Merionite because InDesign suddenly closed without saving my work on a page, I look back and smile, remembering the late nights filled with playing the Wikipedia game and eating Chipotle burritos. So, remember the day you had a sub who read the entire Thesaurus entry for quiet, or the time someone in your Latin class outright refused to translate. Remember the friends you made while bonding over an unfinished rhetorical analysis for AP English at 3am. I have learned that almost every stressful situation has a positive result, or at least some singular moment, that lets you remember it fondly. By reflecting upon experiences in this way, things always tend to seem better in retrospect, and somehow, all the craziness goes away. In the end, for me, the small things made all the difference in my high school experience. Instead of stressing, remember them, and let them make you smile.
LM Matriculation 2009: Go Forth To Serve...
Devereau Abraham Pennsylvania State University Jason Kass Benjamin Furcht Georgetown University Daniel Abrams Colby College Robert Kay Zachary Fusfeld John Hopkins University Natasha Abrams Hampton University Sara Gabalawi Peabody Conservatory of John Hopkins Rachel Keleman Alyssa Adams East Stroudsburg University Kara Kelly University Cayceye Allen Community College of Philadelphia Surbhi Garg Pennsylvania State University - Abington Kelly Kempf Danielle Altman Undecided Lauren Killian Andrea Gaudini Indiana University of Pennsylvania Alexandre Amile-Wolf Oberlin College Maxwell Geiger Montgomer County Community College Emily King Ashley Ash West Chester University Rachel Kitchenoff Max Gelula DePaul University Madeline Bailis Wheaton College Sofia Klar Alexander Gerson Princeton University Nina Bar-Giora Bard College Emily Kleiman Jack Gidaro Coastal Carolina University Chelsea Barr Temple University Aili Klein Emma Glaze Maryland Institute College of Art Pablo Batista Northampton Community College Casey Klein Aaron Glickman Cornell University Scott Benson University of Delaware Jenya Gogola University of North Carolina at Charlotte Erin Knox Neal Berman University of Wisconsin - Madison Danna Koren Aaron Goldberg-Leopold Vanderbilt University David Bernstein Dickinson College Avichai Korn Samuel Golden Pennsylvania State University Nicholas Bibbs Rutgers University Joseph Kozak Alyson Goldstein Bates College Zack Block Evergreen State College Stephanie Kozak Joseph Gordon Case Western Reserve University Samuel Blum University of Maryland Jacob Kramer-Golinkoff Jessica Grabell Albright College Evan Bollentin Kutztown University Pamela Kubiak Eric Green Hamilton College Jean Boller Indiana University of Pennsylvania Jilan Kurlansky Daniel Greenberg University of Pennsylvania Michael Bonney Wake Forest University Erica Kurtzman Daniel Greenspan Amherst College Susannah Boote Colgate University Caroline Labe Jessica Greenspan West Virginia University Brooke Boynton University of Delaware Emily Labowitz Molly Grover Pennsylvania State University Jean Brown Pennsylvania State University Christopher Lake Wesley Gunter Temple University Lily Brown Undecided Connie Lam Meredith Guss Brooklyn College James Buckmann University of Delaware Elisabeth Lambert Anna Haase Pennsylvania State University Melani Butcher Cabrini College Anders Lauersen Naomi Hachen University of Pennsylvania ‘14 Sarah Camitta Tufts University Zachary Lavin Alexander Hails Wake Forest University Elysha Campbell Temple University Kiirsten Lederer Hayley Hanafee University of Pennsylvania Benjamin Caplan Arizona State University Andrew LeDonne Lauren Hanak University of Delaware Elizabeth Carney Weidner College Ji Hyun Lee Molly Hanlon Holy Family University Christian Carpenter Evergreen State College Rebecca Lefkoe Petra Hartman Worcester Polytechnic Institute Hana Chamoun Clark University Chasya Leibowitz Aprile Hartmann Temple University Gabrielle Chandler University of Massachusetts Amherst Taylor Hartsfield Stephen Lenrow University of the Sciences Clare Chitester Eckerd College Toby Leventhal Montana Hauser Emerson Coliege Carolyn Chou Wesleyan University Brian Levin Taylor Hayes Hampton University Chou “JC”Chou Princeton University Jamie Levy Andrew Hayman Year Off/Travel Kionna Clinkscales Virginia State University Samantha Levy Richard He Pennsylvania State University Katherine Cochrane Pennsylvania State University - Schreyer Mike Henrich Julie Lichtman Vassar College Xiomara Coello Temple University Jeremy Lim Sylvia Herbert Drexel University Emily Cohen University of Maryland Paul Hernandez Delaware County Community College XueShang Lin Ethan Cohen Wesleyan University Yuxin Liu Samantha Hershman New York University Karley Cohen Rider University David Loeb Jacob Heyman Ithaca College Lauren Cohen New York University Gabrielle Loeb Madison Highbloom Ithaca College Justin Corrado Pennsylvania State University Adam Longwich Charles Hing University of Delaware Rachel Corson James Madison University Anne Lowe Sophia Hirsch Washington University in St. Louis Max Coyne-Green Colgate University John Lundy Nadav Hirsh Tufts University Rachel Cramer University of Pittsburgh Signe Luther Adam Hoch University of Delaware Courtney D’Agostino Community College of Philadelphia Esther Hoffman Jamie Lynch Cornell University Hannah DeCleene University of Pittsburgh Griffin MacFarlane Sharrone Holtzman Tufts University Emmett de Muzio Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art Brian Maislin Cody Hornung Hampden-Sydney College Becca Denenberg University of Michigan Joshua Mallin Max Hovey Oberlin College Andrew DeSantola George Washington University Jordan Howard Delaware County Community College Steven Mandelbaum Alexis Diaz West Chester University Paulina Marcucci Kristina Howard West Chester University Michael Dickerson University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Zakiyyah Howell Daniel Marino Community College of Philadelphia Matthew Dilks West Virginia University Benjamin Mark Jonathan Huang University of Connecticut Danny DiLullo James Madison University Matthew Maslanka Tristan Hughes Green Mountain College Grace Dob Community College of Philadelphia Leah Hyman Anthony Mazzone Vanderbilt University Sarah Dubow Bucknell University Anna McCarthy Olivia Ickes Shippensburg University Robert Dunn Cabrini College Emily McCarthy James Irving Year Off/Work Taylor Egolf Ursinus College Sara McClenahan Robert Irving Beloit College Miriam Eisen Cornell University Harold McCoy Elizabeth Jacobs University of Pennsylvania Albert Eisenberg Georgetown University Jaclyn McCready Yu “Yunica” Jiang University of Pennsylvania Jacob Eisenhard Hobart And William Smith Colleges Eugenia Jin Anne McGibbon Northeastern University Ailsa Falck James Madison University Ben McGinnis Yun Seong Jo Temple University Ryan Farber Temple University Susan McGowan Jonah Joffe Oberlin College Rebekka Feingold University of Miami Erin McKnight Beverly Johnson Denison College Benjamin Ferber University of Pittsburgh Andrew McLellan Tholin Johnson Military Emma Ferguson Georgetown University Henry Medina Nachae Jones Spelman College Grace Ferguson James Madison University Theodore Meyer Michael Joseph Middlebury College Samuel Fineman New York University Gabrielle Mezochow Ariel Julian Pace University Paul Finkel Carnegie Mellon University Ivan Michultka-Calel Eli Kagan Humboldt State University Caitlin Finley Columbia University Thomas Mickler Giorgi Kalandadze Year Off/Travel/Work Brett Frankel Pennsylvania State University Rachel Miller Marine Kambara Carnegie Mellon University Christopher Frederick Stanford University ‘14 Devin Milsop Rexavier Kandhai Year Off
Kenyon College Jennifer Mirel University of Delaware Kiera Missanelli University of Rochester Nowlan Montague University of Massachusetts Carolyn Montgomery University of Maryland Darion Moody Pennsylvania State University Joseph Moran New York University Ariel Morgenstern Tulane University David Morrison Military Jack Morrison University of Rochester Hannah Morse Harvard University Lakeisha Mulugeta Bucknell University Conor Murphy Bloomsburg University Jeffrey Nelson University of Maryland Robert Nevison Travel Hannah Newman University of Pittsburgh Andrew Nicoli Saint Joseph’s University Jordan Obrant Tulane University Elise Ongirski Villanova University Sabrina Orler University of Pittsburgh Sharon Oser Boston University Samuel Ostrum University of Central Florida John Pappas Kutztown University Elie Peltz Lafayette College Bernard Perlman Delaware County Community College Sarah Perlman Drexel University Jacob Perry University of Delaware Sarah Perry Indiana University of Pennsylvania Cara Piccoli New York University Laura Piccoli Lewis & Clark College Shauna Pierson Montgomery County Community CollegeSeth Pollack University of Pennsylvania Marissa Presser University of Massachusetts Amherst Kiran Puri University of Michigan Timothy Quinn George Washington University Jessica Randel West Chester University Elizabeth Rans Shippensburg University Adrienne Rappaport Pennsylvania State University Timothy Reagan University of Massachusetts Amherst Samuel Reese Johns Hopkins University Hayden Remick Community College of Philadelphia Noy Reuveni New York University Valeri Reyes University of California in Santa Barbara Sara Ritterband Princeton University Gregory Robbins Ithaca College James Robinson Year Off/Travel Brendon Ronon Ohio State University Charlotte Rosen Pennsylvania State University Philip Ross Drexel University Rebecca Rottinger Delaware County Community College Christopher Rowe University of Pittsburgh Eva Rudolph Middlebury College Jordana Rychik Syracuse University Leah Sack Kutztown University Pedro Salinas Year Off/Travel/Work Emma Saltzberg University of Pittsburgh Daniel Saris Pennsylvania State University Balfour “Stu” Saunders Mansfield University Jericho Sav West Chester University Matthew Savran Curry College Austin Scheier Year Off Cady Schimpff Morehouse College Robin Schweitzer Community College of Philadelphia Jessica Scolnic Kutztown University Elana Sears St. Johns College Jessie Seeherman University of Pittsburgh Simon Segal Year Off Katherine Seitel University of British Coumbia Ezra Shapiro Montgomery County Community College Samuel Shapiro Drexel University Charlotte Shepard Dartmouth College Joshua Shusterman University of California in Santa Barbara Victor Siegel University of Arizona Daniel Siegelman University of Delaware Mira Sigal-Feldman West Viginia University Elana Silberstein
Goucher College Boston University Arizona State University Pennsylvania State University Work Allegheny College Drexel University Cabrini College Jacksonville University University of Delaware Pennsylvania State University New York University Dickinson College Work Middlebury College John Jay of Criminal Justice South Kent Prep School Syracuse University Montgomery County Community College University of Michigan - Ann Arbor University of Virginia Villanova University University of Pennsylvania ‘14 Lock Haven University Temple University West Chester University Community Program University of Pennsylvania New York University Tufts University Cornell University University of Delaware Oberlin College Continue at LMHS University of Michigan Montgomery County Community College Temple University University of New Hampshire West Chester University Goucher College Drexel University Temple University Gettysburg College University of Richmond California Polytechnic State University University of Maryland Saint Olaf College University of Maryland ‘14 Virginia Tech Northwestern University Temple University Muhlenberg College Kenyon College Pomona College Amherst College University of Pennsylvania Delaware County Community College Towson University Lehigh University University of Pittsburgh West Chester University Boston University Tufts University Vanderbilt University Temple University Syracuse University The New School Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University Year Off Beacon College Military Oberlin College University of Maryland Muhlenberg College
University of Pennsylvania Manhattan School of Music Camberwell College of Arts (within University of the Arts London) Tom Simon Temple University Lauren Singer Pennsylvania State University Emmanuel Smith University of London, Queen Mary Isaac Smith Tulane University Jenny Smolen John Hopkins University Henry Snyder Military Mathias Soehngen Drexel University Hannah Spiegel Year Off Abigail Spitzer Northeastern University Dylan Spradling Shippensburg University Eric Stahler Temple University Tyler Steinbrenner Rhode Island School of Design Ari Stern Boston University Max Stern Binghampton University Sam Stevens University of New Hampshire Ariel Sugarman-Orens New York University Louise Sullivan Ohio University Kyra Sutton Wesleyan University Molly Sweeney West Chester University Alekos Syropoulos University of Michigan Genevieve Tabby Cleveland Institute of Music/Case Western Reserve University Sabrina Tabby Bard College Conservatory of Music Eva Tan Work Elizabeth Thompson Duke University Niklas Thompson University of Chicago Julia Tomlinson Hampshire College Claudio Torres Drexel University/Chile Eric Tseng Pennsylvania State University - Abington Mariclair Vaillant US Coast Guard Academy Mia Vallet North Carolina School of the Arts Maxwell Vargo Boston University Abigail Vigderman Brandeis University Laura Vitiello University of Delaware Nora Votsch Year Off Marnie Wachs University of Michigan Jameela Wahlgren Year Off Rebecca Wahrman Washington University in St. Louis Betty Walker Pennsylvania State University Gabriel Walker Harvard University Yutong Wang University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jason Warrington Princeton University Ethan Wasserman Year Off/Travel/Work Julie Waters University of Pennsylvania Julien Weinrott University of Colorado Boulder Hannah Weinstein Oberlin College James Weinstein Montgomery County Community College Saul Weinstein Binghampton University Charlotte Weisberg Princeton University Yekaterina Weitzmann George Washington University Vincent Weldon Montgomery County Community College Adrienne Werth Carleton College Renee Weyant Eastern University Briana White Continue at LMHS Harley Williamson West Chester University Deborah Williams University of Hartford Avi Willner West Virginia University Ian Wilson St. Johns College Harrison Winkler Washington University in St. Louis Maor Woidislavsky Pennsylvania State University Anna Woo Wheaton College Alaynia Woodard Montgomery County Community College Amy Woods University of Rochester Kevin Wu John Hopkins University Haochen “Frank” Xu University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg Feng Zhu Polytechnic Institute of NYU Hanna Sophy Ziss Syracuse University Corinne Zucker University of Michigan Kara Silberthau Eitan Silkoff Igor Simic
The editors of The Merionite offer our sincere regrets to anyone not mentioned in this year’s Matriculation list. We wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors.
S8
June 2, 2009
The Merionite
Seniors 2009
Thank you to Mr. Schanne and the Yearbook staff for all the help. Graphic by Noah Zuares/Staff
June 2, 2009
S9
The Merionite
Seniors 2009
You know you are in the Class of 2009 if... of ourtesy
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1. You remember when the periods were all 45 minutes long 2. You listened to the Spice Girls and thought you were really cool 3. You read Goosebumps 4. You applied for a parking permit 5. You’ve been to a Wednesday night party over the past four weeks 6. You remember watching Wishbone, The Magic School Bus, and Reading Rainbow om c . s p o cesho 7. You had Futures with Seibert sy of a e t r u o c o t o Ph 8. You had to talk to your teacher to find out your grade 9. You remember using the iBook 10. You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class 11. You bought candy or soda from the vending machines 12. You played frisbee on Pennypacker Field during lunch 13. You watched “The OC” 14. You recorded your favorite shows on VHS 15. You weren’t allowed to touch anything in the Please Touch Museum 16. Lambchop’s song never ended 17. You could see the cooking class from the Auditorium lobby 18. Piperato. Pho to c 19. You were super excited to get your GameBoy Color our tesy of a 20. You remember the duel bet ween Andrew Karasik and Ben Stango uto nom yen 21. You know the Macerena by heart t.co m 22. You had Segal for AP English Photo courtesy of wikimapia.org 23. You were in school when LM won the State Basketball Championship 24. You collected Beanie Babies 25. You made those little fortune cookie things to predict your future 26. You made an LM T-shirt 27. You were in the original Aces Angels 28. You remember when light-up sneakers were cool 29. You had class in the Ardmore Annex 30. You were creeped out by “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” 31. You had Mr. Burke or Dr. DeAngelis for Humanities 32. You conser ve energy by using natural light 33. You had to send all your scores to colleges 34. You had Ms. Sciandra for biology 35. You remember boom boxes and CD players 36. You looked for Waldo 37. You weren’t suprised when you heard that LM Boys Tennis won States... again 38. You wanted to be a part of the Baby-Sitter’s Club 39. You were in high school before Facebook was open to high school students 40. You consider yourself to be “kind of a big deal”
S10
June 2, 2009
The Merionite
Continue to trust in yourself
It’s hard to believe that some of you who showed up as nervous pre-pubescent freshmen in my study halls 4 years ago, and as equally nervous juniors facing the “testing year” of 07/08, are now off to college. The challenges and the rewards of teaching you are probably greater than you know. I’m left with the satisfaction of having tried to make a mark, and also with a collage of memories: air guitar and the dash, yogurt spills, embarrassing discoveries in the Urban Dictionary, a student’s satirical homework assignment taken literally and reported to the counselor. I’ve also enjoyed the collaborative rapport with my seniors this year, the opportunity to celebrate your independence as young adults about to embark on your futures. I’d like to thank so many of you, on behalf of me and
Michael Segal English
my colleagues, for the gift of being great students to teach. You make us look good! A cousin of mine once cited a Confucian saying to this effect: where there are great students, great teachers will appear. I couldn’t find the thought on Google, but Confucius is probably a harmless default guess. My point is to highlight your own roles in the education you’ve had so far and will continue to have in the future. My grandfather used to say that education starts when you LEAVE college, and while I don’t agree with that entirely, I think he was right on an important point: education isn’t a commodity or service provided by a school or college; it’s a something you build through your own decisions and actions. I’ve seen this confirmed throughout my career, and this year some of my seniors helpfully provided some hard data. In their research essays, they showed that the actual college attended usually plays a pretty small role in determining the future successes and opportunities of the student. Not to take away from the excitement many of you legitimately feel about your hard-earned college acceptance, or whatever other plans you have, but none of those places can guarantee a great education. It’s the abilities, as well as the initiative, self-discipline, wisdom, intellectual curiosity, and general chutzpah of the student that play the bigger role. So I want to wish you an abundance of all those qualities, and many more successes as you continue to build your educations in the future.
Seniors 2009 Succeed at the task before you; but remember to just laugh and enjoy It is strange to think that at one point in our common existence, Peter Wenz entered my consciousness every day; that, in fact, both Johnny Depp and Peter Wenz were thrust upon my classroom daily in a frenzied dust of chalk. I might have been slightly amused, slightly irritated at the time, but I remember it – and the perpetrators! -- fondly. It would be easy to write also w i t h g r e a t a ff e c tion about those of you who triumphed in the classroom, who impressed me in pulling together the Bike Hike (twice) and classroom orders of Chinese food during that interminable lunch/ math period, who made me laugh with your review projects and your faux slacker comments, who impressed me with your kindness and integrity and willingness to do yoga. I also have a spot in my heart, however, for those of you who perhaps did not do so well in my classroom – those for whom I might have given a C, or even a D or F; those of you for whom things may not have gone as well academically, but who still have the grace and good humor to show generosity in the hallway. I will admit that I have watched you carefully and perhaps with a degree of tenderness. What I have learned is that it all begins again, and that at this point you only need to succeed at the task you have set before you. I hope to run into each one of you at some point, and see that you are happy and healthy, working hard and supported by good friends; that you have continued to learn about yourself and the world outside of yourself. Keep your eyes and your mind open. Laugh and enjoy. Make your life happen.
Diane Sweeney Math
Carpe diem? Noli carpere diem? Dear Class of 2009 Allow me to amend or, perhaps, affirm your thinking at this moment of tender passage. As you move toward a placid surrendering of your childhood and gaze into a brave new world, try to understand that “Carpe Diem”, a notion as ubiquitous as the air we breathe, does not mean seize the day with reckless abandon. Keep in mind that Carpe Diem comprises a small portion of a larger Horatian phrase, Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero, “seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow”. Given Horace’s eminence as a satirist, “Go for the gusto”, “Grab the golden ring” and “Just do it” may seem like equivalent translations; rather, Carpe Diem, for me, presents a more complex process of decision-making. Let me illustrate using our high school English texts and the interrogative mood, our most natural way of thinking and
Debora Hobbes English
making sense of the world: Should I invest my time and financial assets in a project for social justice if my friends will not support my decision? Atticus Finch advises: Carpe Diem Should I pledge allegiance to a group that may exercise physical, mental or emotional harm to others or me? Piggy advises: Noli Carpere Diem ; Ralph, “the fair boy”, advises: Carpe Diem Should I renounce my cultural identity or core values if it will save my life and/or the lives of others? Ruth McBride advises: Carpe Diem; Hassan advises: Noli Carpere Diem; Amir advises: Carpe Diem Should I seek power and wealth at the cost of friendship? Macbeth advises: Carpe Diem; Hamlet advises: Noli Carpere Diem Should I love someone who continuously proves to be unlovable in both words and deeds? Frank McCourt advises: Carpe Diem. Toni Morrison via Pecola Breedlove advises: Noli Carpere Diem. Should I wrestle within my soul to reconcile conflicting dreams, in the face of public scrutiny, humiliation, and ostracism? Santiago advises: Carpe Diem; Manolin advises: Carpe Diem. Clearly, individuals contour Carpe Diem. Your age and years of experience prompt your desire for more definitive answers and road maps with clearly delineated destinations and travel routes; I understand. Some of you may already possess those explicit travel guides; you want to become an echo cardiographer; you want to become a civil engineer; you want to become a dance therapist; you want to become Presi-
dent of the United States; you want to become the next Jay-Z or Paris Hilton; you want to become an economist; you want to become a child psychologist; you want to serve honorably in the United States military; you want to become a museum curator; you want to become a parent, a nurturer of the human spirit; you want to become a lawyer; you want to become an entrepreneur; you may want to become a teacher. Given the high probability of road construction, I cannot provide you with a flawless navigation system. But, I do know that your dreams breathe life! The decisions that you make, along your journey, MUST sustain life! Life can be precarious, I know. Some of my attempts at Carpe Diem have rendered tearful nights. So, you may ask, when does the majestical moment of Carpe Diem emerge? The seat of wisdom dwells in the human heart, I believe. The heart distributes oxygenated blood to all parts of the human body; the body cannot exist without an adequate supply of oxygen and blood; therefore, the heart sustains life! A bruised heart heals, but it is never quite the same. I have learned that those tearful nights served a more profound purpose. The Greek tenet of wisdom comes through suffering seems unreasonable maybe even perverse. However, learn to touch, taste, smell, hear and see with your heart. Living life in this manner ushers in dilemma, drama, yet, deliverance. It imparts wisdom in the decision-making process. Don’t worry, the wounds will heal and wisdom surfaces eventually, if not immediately. Remember, do not “beat on against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” like Jay Gatsby; rather, seize the day and move endlessly into the future. CARPE DIEM WITH YOUR HEART !
S11
June 2, 2009
Seniors 2009 Try to follow the road that passion paves The Merionite
As we come to the end of another school year here at LMHS I, like all of you reading this brief reflection, look back and wonder how we manage to get it “all” done year after year. The intricacies of this machine are many, the roles we all play are myriad, and the results, for the most part, are admirable. This wraps up my twelfth complete year at LM (16 total teaching). These years have flown by and I can state unequivocally that they have been the 12 greatest years of my life. During my first year back
Bill Quinn History
in 1996, two of my female students introduced me to my soul mate and beautiful wife, Tara. We just celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary. (Yes, LM kids are smart). As I have daily tried to uncover the ongoing secrets to tapping into student brains to find the “ON” switch, I have also experienced the birth and miraculous growth of my two sons Zachary and Tyler. While I had known from the time I was in fifth grade that I wanted to be a teacher, I allowed myself to be distracted by too much “stuff” along the way. I was 30 years old when I finally allowed myself to let me simply be -- me. I quit my fast-tracking corporate career and got back on the road that passion paved. There has never been a single moment of regret; nor will there ever be. I am one of the lucky ones. I often say to my students, “What a gig. I get to read great stuff, share great thoughts with some fabulous young people, and somebody actually pays me for doing it. Man, I haven’t worked in 16 years.” For me, like the people I most admire in the teaching profession, it has always been a calling, a vocation – a dedication of my life to the development and inspiration
of great minds. I repeat - I am one of the lucky ones. I repeat this because in dealing with all of my students, throughout the years, I have never forgotten myself sitting in that desk, recalling my desperation to be heard, to be seen, to be valued. I am one of you – that’s why it works for me. And it keeps getting better. Not only do I see me in you, I now see my two sons as you. I have tried my best (and have failed more times than I care to admit) to make you each feel special – because you are. The role(s) we adult types play around here at LM grows evermore complex; that is clear. And, as I attempt to continue to sharpen my craft, I realize the next layer of this complex vocation I have embraced. My role deepens exponentially as I witness my own development from the young teacher, to the avuncular guide, to the quasi-parent. Each one of you is someone’s baby; we tend to forget that. Like all of my colleagues, I take responsibility for engaging you, for pushing you, for motivating you, for inspiring you, and for helping you to understand that it was, is, and always will be – about you. You have to discover yourself, know yourself, respect yourself, and love yourself. And how do you do that? Find the road
Playful but serious Keeping each other’s stories: the legacy of Class of ’09 Some graduating classes have more stories than others: more silly tales, more inside jokes, more dramatic evolutions, more sites for laughter. Your class is more storied than most. You hid socks in administrative offices, waded in a dunk tank’s waters, played guitars i n a d v i s o r y. Yo u c a r v e d your names on rigging to memorialize your work and earned detentions for things that you would like erased from memory. You “picked up your trash,” sported “Days of the Week” t-shirts, and punked teachers’ parking as a prank. You laughed in the Merionite office and cried, in both joy and sadness, in the sports’ locker room. You became a class because your stories connected you to your teachers and to each other. In English class, as you read and wrote, you carved out spaces for genuinely affecting each other. As we pondered liminality and existentialism, post-modernism and magical realism, we learned about each other. And this is the joy and duty of being part of a class: being a keeper of each other’s stories. The stories you shared about your life inspired by your reading still echo as tales of hard choices, life dreams, and personal epiphanies reverberate in your absence, as insights and arguments debated and shared remain affixed to walls long after you are gone. As a class, you have powerfully affected me. This is the secret of language when it is offered in kindness and with candor; it both sustains and frees because our words linger, influencing us a little everyday in ways both too small to measure and too powerful to explain.
Leslie Pratt English
John Grace History
Opening the school year preparing breakfast for the faculty and staff- simply a very nice thing to do, and, looking back ten months later at what was certainly a very early morning for seniors, it revealed a dimension to how they wanted their final year at LM defined. Leading the entire school in a decorating explosion of color- an old-fashioned- sorry, we say old school now- display of fun- continued a developing notion that life at LM ought to be enjoyed. The “mural art” of the tech building basement walls exist- at least for another year or so- playfully but indelibly as an example- these seniors showed they understand the virtue of balance. There is a place in the
day, every day, for something light hearted and good to compliment their extraordinary work intellectually and academically, artistically and athletically, that more typically defines life at Lower Merion. Accomplishment that is sometimes breathtaking, performed or submitted with a genuine affection for all things LM. Laughter and furrowed brow, in harmony. Good people, in every group of friends large and small. Class of 2009- sharing this experience and finally joy, some as friends of two of my own children elsewhere- thanksfor being such an important part of my life. Every day for four years, I have been better since seeing you. Much luck. Peace
Congratulations and Best of Luck to the Graduating Class!
International Sweden- 1 Israel- 3 Canada- 1 England- 2
America the Beautiful Where our seniors will be residing next year
Class of 2009’s most popular colleges Graphics by Hannah Weilbacher & Noah Zuares/Staff