Four years — four intense, terrifying, exciting, testing, rewarding years — and only ten days left. It seems only fitting to reflect on everything that I’ve learned.
Choate means something different to everyone. For me, it was a balancing act; I found that it was quite the challenge to simultaneously maintain a fun social life, cope with the heavy academic workload, and manage a busy extracurricular schedule.
Freshman year was where it all began. I knew nothing about balance — all I knew was that I wanted to join Choate’s theater community and meet new people. I auditioned for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, joining a cast that would quickly become family. I’d definitely say that school had not been in session for two weeks and my social life was already thriving. It would have been perfect — that is, if it weren’t for my academic performance. It was all fun and games until I saw my first set of midterms. Let’s just say that my priorities freshman year weren’t necessarily what they should have been.
I returned to campus sophomore year with the plan to meet higher academic standards while maintaining the social life I had already developed. With a larger commitment to good grades, I eventually learned how to balance my schoolwork with a healthy social life.
But that wasn’t all — I also decided to audition for the Arts Concentration program. Being a theater junky, I knew that this was where I belonged. After I was accepted, I met some of the most interesting, oddball, and theatrically talented people I’ve ever known.
In junior year, I joined a directing class (which you must consider taking, if you haven’t already). Our end-of-term project was to direct a scene in which fellow students are cast. My project was successful — but there were still areas I had to work on. I acknowledged retrospectively that many of the directorial choices I made were the result of me trying to do what I thought the audience would like, not what I myself would have done. It was after this project that Tracy — the most loving acting teacher you’ll ever meet — said, “The more choices you make, Will, the more successful your play will be. This important lesson stretches into life as well: while it is good to be selfless, many times, it is okay to take care of yourself before you worry about others.”
This year, when it came time for the ultimate project — writing, directing, and performing in a one-person play — I kept Tracy’s advice in mind. I made every decision for myself, and, as Tracy predicted, the final result was far more successful than anything else I had ever created. I will be forever grateful to everyone in the Arts Department who has helped me grow. Each is a big part of who I am today.
If there’s a lesson that I’d pass on to the next generation of Choate, it would be to live spontaneously. When I was younger, I hated when my days didn’t go as planned. Choate uprooted this attitude: I’ve now learned that you can never truly plan out how your life will go. During the most recent Long Weekend, my plans were canceled last-minute. I certainly wasn’t going to spend my last Long Weekend killing time at home. So, I called up my friend and told her that we were going on an adventure. We got in my car, and we drove. We ended up in a quaint town in Rhode Island. Embrace the unplanned.
Looking back, I still don’t know how I managed to do it. I suppose what finally did get me through four years were my friends. I love that there isn’t a pressure to conform, to be part of only one crowd at Choate. Throughout my Choate career, I never really had a “friendship group” — I was intentionally a floater. I made friends everywhere: in the PMAC, playing sports, and, of all places, in a study-abroad classroom in China.
In a week, I will be gone. Choate was many things: long, tiring, stressful, formative, and rewarding. Now, it is time for the final test — the last and most difficult assessment Choate will throw at me — parting ways with the people that have made this place my home.
