On September 3rd, 2025, I walked onto campus for my fourth year at Montrose, but this time it was different. This was my last first day. Freshman year, my first year at Montrose, feels both close and far away, and I couldn’t help but think about how fast the time had gone. The day started long before the sun came up, when my class gathered for Senior Sunrise. We were all half-awake at 5AM, but the energy was contagious. Sitting together, watching the sky shift from gray to pink, I felt the bond of my class more than ever. We laughed, took pictures, and wore our planned senior sweatshirts. That moment felt both exciting and surreal. For the first time, it really hit me: this was the beginning of the end of my time at Montrose.
Later that morning, we moved from the field back into the familiar rhythm of school. What stood out most was Mrs. Elrod’s address. She spoke about creative courage, drawing from the story of tennis player Amanda Anisimova. Amanda had faced failure on a very public stage but responded with humility, gratitude, and fortitude. That same day, she was preparing to play against the opponent who had beaten her before. Mrs. Elrod described it as a “masterclass in creative courage,” and I couldn’t stop thinking about how it applied to us. Senior year is filled with unknowns – college applications, leadership roles, and responsibilities we haven’t faced before. Amanda’s story showed me that courage isn’t about having all the answers, but about how you face setbacks and move forward with grace.
The rest of the day was a blur of reunions and new beginnings. Meeting my friends again, talking to the new students, and realizing that my class was now officially the oldest in the school – all of it felt strange and exciting at once. Sitting at the front during assemblies, a spot we had looked at for years, was another reminder of how far we had come. A part of me still felt like the underclassman sitting in the back, but now we were the ones everyone else would be watching.
Walking away from my last first day, I felt a mix of emotions, such as nervous, excited, a little nostalgic. It was surreal to think that every tradition and every routine from here on out would be our last time doing it as a class. But if the morning taught me anything, it’s that I’m not facing this year alone. I have a class that is funny, loud, supportive, and driven. We will face challenges, and yes, maybe even failures, but we will do it together, with the same creative courage Mrs. Elrod reminded us about.
I have the privilege of calling the Class of 2026 my classmates and my friends, and I know we’ll carry each other through this year. From the stressful moments of applications and responsibilities to the little victories that make the days brighter, I’m glad I get to share it all with them. And when the year finally ends, I can already see us standing together at Senior Sunset, wearing those sweatshirts we planned on the very first day, closing it all out the same way it began.
By Sanya Nadeem ’26, Editor-in-Chief and Politics Editor
26snadeem@montroseschool.org
