The moment I experienced Sargent Center in 7th grade, I knew that my everlasting dream since I was a gifted Florence Sawyer student, wasn’t all that it was made up to be. At first, the class field trip I attended, in the deep impenetrable woods of New Hampshire, was a good team bonding experience. However, this didn’t mean anything because the expedition wasn’t much importance to me. It was three months into Fall and cold hadn’t been of relevance to me. Before this I had gone home every day to a heated house, with a warm quiet dinner, and a peaceful family. Now I was stuck with five strangers in a group for a weekend when I thought I would be paired with my best friends for the field trip of my life. The tears trickled down my face each night as I thought of this experience as being the end of the world. Being cold was one thing, but thinking you’d be spending a journey of self-reliance with your peers in a log cabin to find you’re only as lonely as the birch trees that surround you is another. The first day obviously wasn’t what I expected. In my dreams I imagined laughs and recognizable memories of exploring the forest. Regardless of everything I had fantasized beforehand, I didn’t find what I was looking for. The constant bug bites, frigid log cabins, and annoying group members frustrated me to the point in which I didn’t want to stay with the peers around me. Giving my group members a bit of shining light, I figured since I chose to stick it out from the beginning, I would stick it out until the end. Although I didn’t enjoy the experience I learned a lot from it looking back on it now. I’m proud of myself for opening my mind to something I wasn’t quite used to. I gained four great friends because of the situation I was put in, but that is just the most basic accumulation I can take out of Sargent Center. What the program is about is learning how to adapt to a circumstance that you’re not necessarily used to. Although I wasn’t fond of the field trip at first, I realized what life is really about. Taking chances and fighting with those around you to finish first in a given environment is what’s to come in the future. Being a part of a high school click is one thing, but adapting to your surroundings is what life's all about and I have Sargent Center to thank for that.
Perseverance
My name is not one that a large amount of people have. The name Jane is more common, however, the Jayne that I use to identify myself is not. Although it is extremely annoying and happens more frequently than not, I like when people spell my name wrong because it shows how unique it really is. It relates to my immediate family as the letter J is the first letter of all my siblings’ names. I feel like my name helps me relate to my family because my family takes a big part in my everyday life. The meaning of Jayne in English refers to an individual who is self-reliant and determined. I feel that out of the many words I’d use to describe myself, determined would be near the top. Throughout my life, determination gets me through difficult times and makes me successful. Specifically one person in my family has been a big help to me becoming the person I am today and influenced my parents choice of my name. That person happens to be my grandmother. Her middle name was Jayne and I truly believe she was the most determined person I have ever met. Throughout her life, she had multiple illnesses that would’ve left many people depressed and not able to continue on with what they love doing. She would be in the hospital day after day and when I would go to visit her, she acted as if nothing was wrong with an enormous smile as bright as the sun. We cried tears of laughter together when she would tell me her most embarrassing childhood memories. She was a best friend. She was persistent. She was a fighter. Determination fueled her to become a strong, achieving woman. Never once would you hear her complain of being in pain or feeling sick, although that would have been the easiest thing to do. She was determined to live to see another day no matter what came across her path. Because I was named after her, I feel that I have a job of having a determined attitude whenever I go through difficult obstacles. In the future, I definitely will encounter tough decisions and battles, whether it’s regarding sports, college, or even making a living, but I think that if I continue to have determination be the feeling that fuels me to do my best, then I will overcome these challenges. I try my hardest to fulfill this job of having this certain attitude because to become someone that has the great qualities of my grandmother would be an incredible achievement and would help me continue to become the person my name resembles.
Potential
It was an ordinary day in my life. It was an ordinary day at the airport. This is why I believe all days have the potential to be the best day in someone’s life. Hundreds of people running to catch their flight, the people who didn’t sleep last night trying to get in a last minute nap, and happy kids that cannot stop smiling because they are so excited to go on vacation; all of these common sights were occurring at the airport. I waited many minutes, which seemed like hours and hours, for my dad and sister to arrive in Boston. Soon enough, the plane had arrived and people started piling out of the terminal as if there was a huge Black Friday sale on the other side. I saw from afar two people carrying something. As I stared at the object, it seemed to be something moving. I was utterly confused, meanwhile, my mom had no idea what I was looking at and the only thing on her mind was finding my sister and dad. As the two people came closer and closer, I started to see the object more clearly; it came evident to me that it was a tiny, border collie puppy. He looked so scared and was crouched in the man’s arms and I could not help but squeal due to cuteness that I could not take. I looked up at the two people and sure enough it was my dad and sister. I was absolutely in awe when I realized this adorable puppy was soon going to live in our house and I was going to be able to play with him every day. I ran up to my dad, faster than I had ever run before in my life, and scooped up the puppy into my arms. He was as light as a feather and I was not giving him back to my dad any time soon. I can not imagine how scared he was being a tiny animal among hundreds of monstrous crowds. This was something I had been asking about for my whole life and it finally happened. July 28th 2014. The day where the lifestyle of my family would change, and become a life where we would spend every weekend outside, running around with our new friend Chesney. The day that I would now come home every day to something that would greet me with kisses and hugs. Something that would make my worst days become better, and my best days become even better just from seeing his face. It was just an ordinary day in my life, until my mom made me go to an airport, which I’m very happy about now, and something came along that would fix all my problems, turn me into a happier person, and most importantly, look forward to every day ahead of me.
Credits:
Created with images by michael pollak - "sunlight" • RyanFSpack - "leaves fall au"