On September 4th, 2024 I walked onto campus 2,192 days (or you know 7 years) since I first walked onto Montrose Campus as a student. I had been before (shoutout to the various alumnae who braided my hair before I stepped onstage for a talent show, and my mom who let me watch Harry Potter in her office), but never in uniform, never as a student. I was predictably filled with nerves. If you know me personally, you may know that I am that kid who couldn’t sleep before Christmas. Holidays, gatherings, sports games, and basically anything outside of my normal routine means I will be wide awake mentally racing the night before (and it’s been that way since I could remember).
So when I awoke at 4:30AM for Senior Sunrise (and I won’t tell you when I think I actually slept but I will say I “started going to sleep” at around 11PM) running on less than an ideal amount of sleep, I put on the cheesiest “First Day of Senior Year” playlist I could find for motivation. Songs like “Unwritten” – Natasha Bedingfield and “Where’d All the Time Go?” – Dr. Dog gave me some much needed energy. Music has always been an outlet for me, and I gathered long-awaited excitement, anxiety, and joy on a very solitary drive into school (unlike the usual noise of my family when I drive).
I arrived at Miracle Field a little after 5:45, and was quickly called into a Seven-Year Survivor photo (minus a few who weren’t there yet, or in Sophie Farr’s case, overslept until everyone had departed for breakfast). As we reconvened for the second Seven-Year Survivor photo after most of us (all 12 minus Sophie) had arrived, I was vividly reminded of one of my first memories at Montrose as a student.
2,192 days (7 years) ago, some of my fellow Class of 2025 Seven-Year Survivors and I sat in the first row of our first Montrose Assembly. We were rather kindly informed by Maddie Marcucci ‘19 that at Montrose, it is tradition for seniors to sit in the first row. We quickly retreated a few rows, and subsequently the moment quickly faded from memory. (Although when I brought up this memory to another survivor, she also remembered this!!) However, this entire summer I have been envisioning the moment that I would sit in the front row. It seemed so surreal to me that I was a senior, that I would be sitting there. In fact, Mrs. Whitlock told me multiple times to change my gmail signature from “Rising Senior” and remove the “Rising.” I held out until September 4th. I was in severe denial whenever someone referred to me as a Senior over the summer (and still am to be honest).
While sitting in the second row (behind a couple of straggling members of the Class of 2030) on the floor during presentations on the first day of school wasn’t exactly what I had pictured, it was still an important moment for me. I could no longer deny that my class was occupying the Commons (lawfully), leaving for lunch, and the oldest grade in the school. It did still feel a little strange, as a fellow senior remarked, “I’m getting strange energy about being the oldest. It feels like somebody’s missing!”
Sitting in that makeshift criss-cross apple-sauce first-ish row on the first day of school, we listened to Mrs. Elrod’s address to the school. Listening to Mrs. Elrod talk about Sylvia Conte’s definition of “kind curiosity” I felt a true appreciation for my class. We have supported each other like Team USA’s Women’s Gymnastics Olympic team Mrs. Elrod spoke about. She described to us Simone Biles experience of the twisties at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I’m sure you’ve heard of the phenomenon (whether from Mrs. Elrod or before), but the “twisties” refer to a disconnect between a gymnasts mind and body, and they can lose themselves in the air. Mrs. Elrod shared how Simone Biles was kindly curious herself and came back this year as the GOAT.
Senior Year will definitely grant us some twists and turns this year. As a class, we are facing college applications, leadership positions, and responsibilities left and right. Most of that is unknown, but one thing I know for sure is that the Class of 2025 is definitely kindly curious. We are funny, and very loud (the Commons has never witnessed so much noise, even though our class is physically smaller than previous classes). We are competitive, and as the first winners of the Fr. Dick Class Cup and it holds a special place in the Commons this year. We will make the most of the ups, and just like Team USA, we help each other when we’re down.
I have the pleasure of calling the Class of 2025 my friends, and I know that many of them will guide me this year from when I feel my own version of the twisties (firmly on the ground however) to celebrating little wins with me like we just won gold medals.
By Amelia White ‘25, Co-Editor-in-Chief
