10:00 AM: Academy Center -

Snack and conversation with friends. More…

The Phelps Academy Center is fantastic. We're talking about Student Council. I'm head of the Recreations Committee which plans school-wide activities: outdoor movies, dances, ice cream socials, cookouts. I'm trying to recruit people to join.

We're also comparing ID cards. Here my friend Pilar is looking at my card – I have the worst ID photo of anyone I've ever seen! My really good friend Lydia is with us.

I usually go to the Grill in the evenings after dinner, if I don’t have a rehearsal. I'll go over with friends or meet people there. We watch sports games. One of my favorites was watching the Red Sox/Yankees game. It was packed. You had fans for both sides. I'm not affiliated so I rooted for whichever team was ahead or appealed to me. Sometimes I have meetings for Student Council. Or, I go to the game room. I check my mail box once a day and run in there for a quick email check. I play mahjong with members of the Taiwanese American Society.

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10:15 AM: Assembly -

Getting perspective from the outside world. More…

Assembly is one of my favorite things every week. It’s great to have something that brings you back to what's happening outside Exeter.

Many of my favorite assemblies have been related to government, which is one of my interests. Today's was great – a professor of law at Yale. He talked about his personal life, how it's dangerous to conform, how you can lose part of your personal identity. He was able to bring in his personal experiences – how he is a gay male and fought for many of his own liberties, including battles he wasn't expecting to encounter at Yale. We had another Assembly speaker, a one-time affiliate with the CIA, who talked about the action during the cold war. That was really eye-opening.

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12:15: Free time -

Connecting with friends at the dorm. More…

Here I’m in my dorm room with my roommate Erin and my friend Elara. The dorm is my favorite place on campus. I love how Exeter dorms are a mix of all grade levels. For me, that was one of the deciding factors to come to Exeter. Being in a dorm with kids of all ages really helps you create a sense of community. Through upper classmen in my dorm I've met some personal best friends. These older girls act as mentors. They've been there before. They've lived through the same things.

On Saturday we have a tradition that we watch a TV show and some of Saturday Night Live and then we go to our rooms and hang out, talking until all hours. It’s really fun to talk to someone about a movie or other things unrelated to class, and have an in-depth conversation. Everything from the government to human rights. Recently I was in the “popcorn room” of our dorm talking about how cultures handle money differently – an example of Harkness outside the classroom.

Erin and I play a lot of music. We go outside in the hall and talk. We watch movies. We decorate our room with posters, pictures from magazines and stuff we pick up from room sales.

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12:40: Adviser meeting -

“A great resource and a great friend.” More…

I’m talking to my adviser, Ms. Misenheimer, about room picks for next year. We met up in the Art building, where she has her office. Ms. Misenheimer’s a great resource and a great friend. Her input reflects her experience with the Academy and her interests. She can bring a different perspective, which I value. She helped me a lot early in the year. She advised me on which choir to go for. She helped me realize my own boundaries and limitations – what I could realistically juggle.

We ran into Rachel, a senior, during our conversation. We’re looking at large portraits that Rachel made of faculty members. I can remember meeting Rachel the first time and thought she was hilarious. We play squash often. She’s really fun to be around.

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1:30 PM: English -

“What more can you ask for than a subject matter you love?” More…

Here we’re reading Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger. There are always good ideas bouncing around the table. In this class I really learned when to read into things and when to take things at face value. Here we’re talking about how some stories had links and continuing ideas even beyond the boundaries of individual stories.

Going to English class is like entering another world. What more can you ask for than a subject matter you love? A lot of my outside concerns evaporate. It's the most interesting class atmosphere that I've had at Exeter. I knew many of the students from outside of class. It’s great to see how students are different in solving an equation from a riddle in a poem. 

My teacher helped me develop my writing skills. I had less experience with narrative and fiction writing than I had with analytical writing. He challenged me to write and rewrite.

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2:25 PM: Water polo -

Teamwork and fun is taking us places. More…

I signed up for water polo because I wanted a completely new sport. I’d never heard of it. Now, it’s my favorite sport. I’m also on the swim team, so it’s a lot of the same crowd. Everyone on the team is great. I have a great time with Grace, my buddy, and Vivian, who’s fantastic. We have an amazing goalie, Erika.

I play on varsity B. We have an overlapping format with varsity A, so we get to learn from them. Many players came in with no water polo experience, and we’re now playing on a team that's 3rd in New England! We’ve improved so much. Most of us knew nothing about the sport – we didn't even know what a water polo ball looked like.

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5:10 PM: Biology -

Bringing science to life. More…

I love my biology teacher, Mr. Matlack. He's hilarious. He has so much experience – he served in the Peace Corps in Africa. He can bring to life all of the things you see in a text book. He knows how to get you to appreciate biology with a touch of humor. Biology has become one of my favorite classes. Here, we’re talking about plants and the environments they live in – how the maturation process works for different plant types.

One of the surprises for me at Exeter was how you can have a relationship with a teacher inside and outside of the classroom. Because you're living on campus with a lot of them, you can cultivate more personal relationships. 

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6:05 PM: Dinner and club meetings -

Feeding body and mind. More…

Here I’m having dinner with the Democratic Club. It meets once every week during Monday dinners. I’m in several clubs – Glee Club, Debate Team, Debate Club, Student Council, Dramat, Exeter Shakespeare Society. Here I’m getting dinner with my friend Julia, who’s really funny.

I'm going to be a senate and governor's page this summer, back home. The Democratic Club is a great resource for finding internships and getting informed. I’m going to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention this weekend with about 12 other Exeter kids.

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6:45 PM: Symphonic Choir -

Rejoicing in the sound and meaning of music. More…

We always warm up before rehearsal. Here we're practicing Benjamin Britten’s "Rejoice in the Lamb" and Carl Orff’s "Carmina Burana", with Ms. Kegel.

"Carmina Burana" is my favorite piece to sing – the history behind it is fascinating. It was secretly written by a bunch of monks. The words are mostly in German and Latin – it’s fun to translate. And it’s fun to sing because the music has some tricky harmonies. When you master it, it sounds fantastic. It’s great fun to talk about it outside choir.  

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