A Letter to Pembroke Hill

      Happy Friday! Last night was our Commencement Dinner which took place at the InterContinental Hotel and it's basically a dinner that celebrates the graduating class and welcomes the juniors as rising seniors. My favorite teacher was one of the speakers elected by the class of 2014, and his speech was perfect. We opened up an envelope that was at our seat at dinner and it was a little questionnaire that we filled out in fifth grade describing what our lives were like, what our favorite things were, etc. Obviously, I was the weirdest and most embarrassing fifth grader ever and for the picture that we drew of doing "something we love in 2014," 2007 Brooke drew a picture of herself modeling. Yeah. So I was basically crying from laughter at how weird I was. Anyway, I'm graduating tomorrow night (oh my god) and I wanted to write a letter to Pembroke Hill (just for my own sentimental purposes, I obviously won't be sending it to anyone), the school I've attended since 1998.

Dear Pembroke Hill School,
      Firstly, I want to thank you so much for molding me into the person I've become. Because of your teachers and rigorous schoolwork, I've become a self-disciplined and considerate person who won't let anything or anyone stand in her way.
      I would like to address, however, a few flaws in the school which I feel can be fixed. I understand that we're a "college preparatory school," and therefore we must be competitive in academics and extracurricular activities, but the hyper-preparation has, in my opinion, gotten out of hand. Was it really necessary to start having final exams in sixth grade? Just so we could be extra prepared for final exams in high school? Finals may not have had the same effect on everyone that they did on me, but I will always remember crying every night for weeks before any finals week, due to the amount of pressure you put on me to do well.
      When students (including myself) become depressed due to their feeling of helplessness and extreme stress, there's something wrong. When students have frequent breakdowns, require therapy and medication, and even attempt suicide because of the emotionally destructive environment at school, there's something wrong. I'm not saying that Pembroke Hill is the only school with this issue, because it's not. However, I strongly recommend that changes need to be made. I've grown up my entire life firmly believing that my grades were significantly more important than my happiness, and there will always be a part of me that resents Pembroke Hill for drilling that idea into my brain for sixteen years.
      We need to make it clear to students that their education is more highly valued than their grades, because students will do whatever it takes to pass when they feel like they are incapable of understanding the material. The amount of homework assigned does not determine the ultimate success of the student in a class, rather, how well the teacher teaches and insures a firm grasp on the concept from each of his or her students.
      I don't want anyone to think that I don't realize how incredibly lucky I am to have gone to Pembroke Hill, and I will always take pride in saying that I'm a Raider. I'm just trying to say that I wish Pembroke Hill hadn't stolen several years of my childhood in order to prepare me for "the real world." I wasn't in the real world and I wasn't supposed to be treated like I was. When we were given extra math lessons rather than recess and more homework rather than time to enjoy our youth, those were the things that I won't miss about Pembroke Hill.
      However, the things I will miss about Pembroke Hill include the first day of school, the BBQ football game, new classes and teachers, Extended Day, Homecoming, the room in the library, choir concerts, May Day, cheering for football games, going to the school where my mom works and brother attends, going out to lunch with my friends, Blue Koi, the bond between the students in a really hard class, all my English classes and teachers, Mr. Laible's jokes, Mr. Young's jokes, Prom, the musical, costumes for the musical, the nervous excitement for the opening show, striking the set, cast parties, Showcase, Friday til 4, advisory, the beautiful campuses, winning the two-lap warmups basically every day in middle school gym, "partners" in younger/older grades, JanTerm, Hawaii, Chicago, New York, birthdays in the Lower School, Ms. Rodes, Mrs. Smith, fellow lifers, my amazing friends, and everything in between. Despite any criticisms I have for Pembroke Hill, I could not have asked for a better school to have spent the first quarter of my life to grow up in. I am so grateful for everything the school has given me, and graduation will definitely be bittersweet. I'll definitely be back to visit and I'll always have my Raider Pride t-shirt. Thank you for these wonderful 16 years which I will always cherish and never forget.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

Carpe Diem,
Brooke