Matriculation 2011

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June 10, 2011

Seniors 2011

The Merionite

Reflections from our editors in charge Conor Ferguson Editor-in-chief

I’ve thought about writing this since my freshman year. When I was in middle school, my sisters would bring home The Merionite and I would read the newspaper front to back, the second it appeared on the kitchen table. The Main Line Times was cool but The Merionite was hip. The paper was run by the students in every sense of the word—they wrote the articles, snapped the pictures, and designed the pages. It was a newspaper made by the students for the students…and boy, was it good! I’m sure the majority of avid Merionite readers would agree with me when I say that this matriculation issue is always the best. Last year when I became one of the Editors-in-Chief, I assumed the responsibility of soliciting seniors for their reflections. We set a deadline and of course only a handful met the date. I didn’t understand what was taking people so long. They had been in high school for four years, memorable events had to have happened. Why couldn’t they just write about it? Now, I completely understand.

I think the problem is that I never had to reflect on anything like this before. It’s difficult to think about the past four years and to condense all of my memories into a final summary—it just doesn’t feel right. For me, every day was special in it’s own way. All of the hours spent learning in the classrooms, the cherished few minutes used to talk with a friend in the hall, and the countless seconds waiting for the bell on a Friday were all part of my Lower Merion experience. Those hours, minutes, and seconds that I spent at Lower Merion are what I will always remember. Something I can’t stress enough to underclassmen at Lower Merion is that they need to spend as much time at school as possible. It’s important to become an athlete on a sports team, run for a Student Government position, or to become an active member in one of the school’s clubs—just whatever you do, get involved…and stay involved.

Once you get involved, you’ll feel like a part of something much bigger than yourself. The sense of school spirit and school unity at Lower Merion is truly amazing. We wear our maroon and white to all basketball games with pride for the name that we represent. We passionately cheer for our team while simultaneously harassing the players on the opposing team. The Dawg Pound unites the student body at our most hopeless moments and rallies for our support during the most jubilant wins. When at Lower Merion, allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the Dawg Pound. Jump on the bleachers, cheer

Matt Rublin

Managing Editor For seemingly the longest 45 minutes of my life, I squirmed in my seat. Foot tapping. Stomach churning. Señora Betegh was shouting out in Spanish (or so I thought), while 20 other students and I looked at each other bewildered and, yes, petrified.

Today, I can chuckle at my still-vivid memory of the first day of high school. I smile not only at the absurdity of the situation, but also because it reminds me of how much things have changed- academically, socially, and personally.

Despite sometimes seeing each other only sporadically during the three years at LM that we shared before her retirement, Señora and I developed a special friendship. We would talk about her new granddaughter and how Spanish was go-

on your friends, and yell at the referees…you won’t regret it the next morning when you can’t speak in Spanish class.

I have found that if you get involved and become an active member of the student body, that your time at school will be well spent. When you’re active in the school community, it’s easy to make friends— and friends were the most important part of my high school experience. I’m not just talking about the kids that you caravan to the Plat with on the weekend, but I’m also talking about the friends that you have

made in class. Sure, those Plat-bound friends are the ones that I look forward to hanging out with outside of school, but the friends that I’ve made in school are the ones that have gotten me through each part of the day. They’re the ones that I’ve stayed up past midnight with studying the Weiner Notes. Or the friends that I have made while attempting to diagram the muscular system. These friends, though I didn’t see them much out of school, have completed my high school experience. It’s the random interactions that we shared that made me realize how many great people there are at Lower Merion.

Though these past four years were amazing, it’s time to move on with my life. I couldn’t have asked for a better high school experience. I can’t thank my teachers enough for preparing me with the necessary tools to succeed. I’ve spent so much of my life over the past four years here that it’s going to feel weird to leave. Change is a good thing though and I’m ready to embark on my next adventure. Plus, the reunion will be here in no time! To the class of 2011, goodbye until we meet again!

ing for me. All of this was unimaginable that September day four years ago when I first sat in her class.

As I reflect upon the last four years here, similar threads of change emerge. A new schedule. A new building. A new principal and administration. Yet, despite a Lower Merion High School in transition, our Class has bonded with one another and has achieved great successes.

Beyond coining the term “superlunch” (yes, underclassmen: we created that), we have left an indelible mark on LM- a mark that will be seen and felt long after we drive out of the Arnold Field parking

Leah Rosenbloom

special about getting to know LM off the record, and being free to explore.

But you might say, Leah, freedom is a vague word. I say: freedom is whatever you make of it. I chose to spend my free There are many fantastic things time at LM doing any number of things, about Lower Merion, but one is from holding conversations with teachby far the best. Before I reveal to ers to doodling in the art rooms to wanyou the one secret it has taken me dering around aimlessly with a friend. four years to learn, let’s back it up. Sometimes I did absolutely nothing.

For argument’s sake, let’s say we all And freedom isn’t confined to free periods, either. The five minutes in between classes are all yours to enjoy.

Keep your head up in the hallways you’d be surprised at how many people you know. Smile or say good morning to someone random. Catch up with a friend you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Poke your head into a classroom and say hi to a former teacher.

Give a friend a hug. Those little hallway interactions have turned my day around more times than I can count.

These connections aren’t something you can put on a transcript.

Sometimes, they aren’t even something you can put into words. But they’re definitely there, among the most important things you will take away from high school. These moments, where you are in complete control, are constantly weaving the bricks you are gathering together.

What I’m trying to say, underPhoto by Chris Conwell/Staff neath all of this crap, is that there is an have some bricks (because what would increasingly limited amount of unscheda senior reflection be without a couple of uled time in life. Luckily, LM is very metaphors?). Bricks represent all of the generous. We are given free time, and obligations we have—so, in other words, teachers always allow breaks in schedeverything we complain about: classes, uled teaching for students to question. If practice, homework, Merionite dead- I were to give one piece of advice before lines. We generally like these things, but I go, it would be this: try not to think it’s at least once during the year we have necessary to turn free time into an obresented signing ourselves up for them. ligation. Don’t fill up your afternoons Brick is what set a foundation, but it’s with countless activities, and don’t be only one of two essentials. The other? afraid to think about what you’re learnMortar! Mortar represents everything ing before you do your homework. Take we don’t have to complain about—our time to get to know your friends, and many freedoms. Mortar allows us to to get to know yourself. If you go to join all of our bricks together and so- LM, I already know you work hard to lidify the four years we have here. Each earn your bricks. Just don’t forget you brick is similar to another, but mortar also need time to glue those bricks tois what makes each and every student gether. So, next time you’re in the hallat LM unique, and it is also what sets way, keep your chin up. Find something LM apart from other schools. Not to pleasant to do during your free. Enjoy say classes and afterschool activities the time you have here, because it goes aren’t fantastic, but there is something by faster than you could ever imagine.

Editor-in-chief

lot for the last time. Whether it was discussing our life experiences in Dr. Hobbs’ English class or screaming our lungs out for our Aces, a

strong sense of camaraderie and respect for our fellow classmates characterized the Class of 2011. I’m thankful to have been a part of that.

Since winter, I’ve been asked countless times whether I’m looking forward to college beginning already.

Although I am very much looking forward to college, I will also look back and cherish the experiences that I know will never happen again: the study sessions with friends during A lunch for an APUSH quiz; those intense Badminton games; even the casual conversations about current events with Mr. Henneberry. And, of course, those “one minute” stopins to Señora Betegh’s classroom merely to say “hola” that turned into ten-minute shmoozefests.

Each of us has our own special memories from these last four years. They have drawn us closer: to each other, to our teachers, to Lower Merion High School.

Whether we’re in Happy Valley or the Delaware Valley next year, whether we root for the Big Green or the Big Red, we will always be Aces.

Photo by Chris Conwell/Staff Some things don’t change.

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June 10, 2011

Seniors 2011

The Merionite

Closing remarks from this year’s valedictorian

Jake Wellens

A middle-schooler’s anxiety. Embarrassing freshman year story. A troubled sophomore. SATs suck. Growth, maturity. Identity found. Nostalgic yet uplifting conclusion. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

That felt unsatisfactory, but so would just about anything else I might write…including the following. The last four years haven’t been about the big pictures, the general concepts, the life lessons, or the quotable truisms. It’s the little things that matter.

It is easier to grow attached to something small, because you can know it so well. You can feel the tiny bumps and pores on a pebble with your hand until you can draw a picture of it with your eyes closed, but you can’t do that with something as big as the Earth.

My tiny moments are unique, and they are

Words of contemplation from your school president

mine. Of course I share some of them with some of you, but two people cannot experience the same moment in the same way. It doesn’t suffice to tell you that I discovered my passion for math on a napkin with Patricia in Peace of Pizza after our midterm on a winter Thursday. It doesn’t suffice to tell you about the hours I spent at Mr. Kaczmar’s blackboards, and eventually his whiteboards, forging unlikely friendships and solving increasingly difficult problems with increasingly interesting people. It doesn’t suffice to count the Frisbees I threw during Spanish, the orders of General Tso’s chicken and Chipotle burritos I ate during Merionite late nights, or the pieces of chalk I broke drawing capital sigmas on the board.

Ironically, the only truism I can leave you with is the fact that truisms don’t apply to high school.

It can’t really be wrapped up nicely in a way that makes sense. We’re kids – we change so rapidly that the whole picture of high school rarely makes much sense. I can only make sense of the moments, and those I can hold onto and study. It’s particular lines in particular dialogues with particular people; it’s a problem on a problem set, a wave in the hallway, a bus ride - the most mundane aspects of the most mundane routines. I think we often underestimate the intensity of the nostalgia we will feel for our routines. I sort of regret that I did not study each moment more intensely as it happened, so that my memories could better withstand the years of neglect. I suppose that’s just the nature of time – the present doesn’t exist, the future is quickly receding and the past is growing in size but growing more distant as well. I will miss it, like I will miss anything that’s over. I guess what I’m trying to say is not to cry because it’s over, but rather to smile because it happened. Damn it.

Do I have any regrets? No. Did I make any mistakes? At least once a day. If I did not that day would be unsuccessful. As I sit here attempting to write a half decent reflection I gaze up on my wall, and right above my desk is a piece of paper taped to the wall that has the quote, “to dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily not to dare is to lose oneself” written on it. My best friend, Emily, gave me that piece of paper sophomore year when I told her I wanted to put a bunch of inspirational quotes on my wall. That never happened. But that lone quote that Emily gave me shines bright on my wall.

This quote is especially significant today as I think about what my high school experience because to me it embodies the lifestyle that I tried to embody during these past four years. High school for me was about experience. High school was about trying new things, pushing myself beyond my comfort level, meeting new people, and living life to the absolute fullest.

High school was a roller coaster.

There were a lot of ups, and a lot of downs. Both of which taught me extremely valuable lessons that have landed me where I am today. My high

Shira Barlas school experience has been another building block on the never ending, constantly changing, construction project to create the constant work in progress that is myself. My high school experiences taught me to be who I want to be and express myself how I want to express myself.

I know that is all may sound cliché, but it is true. High school helped to teach me more than geometry or American history; it taught me about being me.

High school was a roller coaster.

The real world is not as large a step as it appears to be All my life I’ve thought that as soon as I graduated high school, I would be catapulted into this scary, dangerous, unknown place known as the “real world.” I thought I would have to live on my own, make new friends, keep track of my money, and fend for myself. Well let me tell you, now four days away from graduation, I can confidently say that I see no “real world” in my immediate future. Maybe when I graduate college or graduate school, I’ll stop living in this fake protected

utopia I’ve apparently been residing in for the past 18 years. For now though, it feels as though I am just being gently nudged along into the next stage of my future.

Yes, I’ll be “living on my own” …along with 700 other students living in my dorm at Tulane. And yes, I’ll have to make new friends… with 1,630 other Freshmen, all desperate to make friends as well. And yes, I’ll have to be mindful of how much of my pre-paid meal plan I am spending, but all in all, I will

certainly not be fending for myself. For every possible obstacle, solutions will be provided within easy reach.

If you ask me, this is BS! I was all prepared to pull an Alexander Supertramp and venture forth into the wild.

Instead, all I’m going to be doing is the exact same thing I’ve been doing for the past four years, except in a new location.

My teachers, family, and friends have done too good a job of preparing me for this next “big” step in my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as excited as the next senior (soon to be college Frosh), but I just wish someone had warned me.

So, let me be the one to tell YOU: don’t you worry your little S AT- t a k i n g , g r a d e grubbing, homeworkdoing, high school selves. When it’s your time to graduate and head off into “the real world”, take it from me, you’ll be ready.

Sydney Ehrman

Reflecting on the highs and lows of high school

Patricia Neckowicz

The last four years have been my most inconsistent to date. What I mean is that I’ve never experienced so many highs and lows, and so many changes in attitude, interests, and friends. I remember first walking into the old building in the middle of August for my first preseason. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Seniors were big, inside jokes were only fun when you knew what they meant, and there was a scary man as the coach. I went about my freshman year with the same attitude.

I was shy and insecure.

The next year was a big turnaround, and each year has been ever since. At points I obsessed over running, and at others, I could care less.

I saw myself getting carried away with appearances, and then not caring at all. I hope that the last two years have

changed me for the better, but I know that I’ll soon be able to look back upon them with a critical eye.

I realized that the reason I’ve changed so much and so often is that I experienced situations where a fundamental part of me was questioned.

I learned the most about myself not in the moments when I was comfortable, but in the instances where I was waiting for a starting gun to sound, or even just waiting for the answer to a problem in physics class. Anxiety and excitement have brought out the best and worst in me, and if it had not been for the people I met, the places I went, and the things that I did at Lower Merion, I may have never come to such honest realizations about myself.

I know now that I value being in small groups, that spending a night alone is relaxing, that learning about

electric fields is fun. I’ve met people with whom I could have a five-minute conversation, and people who I could talk to into the late hours of the night.

I’ll laugh at a dumb math pun, and I’ll cry when I imagine losing a best friendship. Not only has my experience here taught me my preferences.

It’s showed me the breadth and depth of my emotions.

It’s hard to believe that I’ll never have another Senior Seminar problem set (thank goodness!) and that may never have to lace up my spikes again. I am already troubled with how to spend my free time. Then I think about how I’m not alone, and that I have the best graduating class EVER behind me. I can’t imagine four years being any more fulfilling than these last ones, and that’s why the future is so exciting.

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June 10, 2011

Seniors 2011

The Merionite

Imagine this...

This is my senior reflection. I get to write one of these suckers cause I’m a Merionite editor but I should probably begin with the admission that I’m hardly in any position to be giving anybody advice.

Just ask my teachers. So I’m going to avoid pretending like I haven’t totally screwed up in high school, or pretending like I can explain how to maneuver this place. I’m just going to share something that I’ve come to realize this year.

Here is a fun way to pass time in boring classes.

Look around at everyone in your classroom. Imagine that you and these individuals are on a plane, and that the plane crashes on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. Decide who will assume each of the archetypal desert island personalities. Who’s gonna be the guy hoarding food? Who’s gonna be the loud-mouth jerk pretending to take charge cause it makes him feel less afraid? Who will be the quietly confident leader who wants to establish democracy on the island, and who is going to be the anarchist cannibal? Which of your classmates will be crafty enough to devise a contraption to distill seawater, and who’s going to be absolutely useless dead weight? Who will you be?

Sometimes I play another version of this game; its less exciting but arguably more interesting. Imagine your classmates 20 years from today, at your high school reunion. Has the girl with the fake tan wised up, or is she still rocking the oompa loompa look? And if it’s the latter, who in the room will be the skin care specialist who’s going to treat her? Who’s in trouble with the law, and who’s their lawyer? Who found themselves in a tough situation, and who is the social worker helping them out? Who’s representing you in Congress, and who’s indirectly living off your tax dollars via the welfare system?

You know, much as I’ve spent most of the year cursing it, there’s something to be said for this new building. It lends itself pretty well to a little metaphor. You can’t escape this building. It might as well be an island in the middle of the ocean. I think that’s how the future is going to work too. There’s no escaping it. Today we are foolish high schoolers populating this little mini-society called highschool; 20 years from today we’re going to be adults populating society – possibly shipwrecked and maybe hating one another’s guts but absolutely forced to work together for survival on this deserted little island called America. Sure, you can distance yourself from your high school classmates, but just as long as they are alive and impacting the world you live in, there’s really no escaping them. There’s no way out. Well, there is one way out, but despite the number of times I’ve wished that on various teachers, cafeteria bouncers, and slow-hallway-walkers, I wouldn’t really wish that on any of you.

If you’re graduating LM with an extreme distaste for 95% of your classmates, absolute contempt for every teacher you’ve ever had, swearing up and down that this school didn’t teach you a damn thing, and with every intention of walking out and never looking back – well, I certainly don’t blame you. But I want you to know that there’s no escape. Obnoxious jerks and sniveling rule-followers exist out there, too. The day will come when you need one of them, or when one of them needs you. So buy into it. Invest in the island. Don’t delude yourself; see all of the faults of this stupid system and the sometimes hateful people who belong to it, and if you can’t help it, really, really hate this place – this whole damn country and world. And then remember that you’re stuck here, and ask yourself what you can do to make it better. Don’t disengage; don’t lose hope in your generation. Hopefully you’re not the oompa-loompa needing a doctor or the con needing a lawyer, but nonetheless realize that you have every reason in the world to be invested in the success of your classmates. You are very much invested in the success of your classmates; you don’t really get to choose. So go to a freaking Players show and applaud the kids who worked on it. Always check out the art show because it is always mind blowing. Send your notes to the kid who slept through class.

Go to a soccer game, even if you haven’t before. Ask the kid who always has headphones on what he’s listening to. Make friends with the lunch ladies and with the campus aides and the meanest teacher in the school and with the losers and the d-bags and the nerds and with the freakishly school-spirited girls. Usually, if you’re disinclined to make friends with somebody, it’s cause you’re scared that they’re judging you or that they won’t like you. So remember that you are special and awesome and have unique skills to offer the island. Then, get over being scared and strike up a conversation. Smile and be a decent human being. And when that jerk kid is an ass to you when all you were trying to was be friendly, make a mental note to be friendly to him again, ‘cause if he really feels the need to act that way, he almost definitely isn’t very good friends with himself.

Remember that everyone is secretly weird as ish. Remember that the island needs you, so stay hungry for success, and for whatever else. Stay foolish, stay hopeful, stay beautiful!

Emily Shepard

No longer the new kid, and my head held high, I say goodbye

Lisa Li

Two years and three months ago, I stepped into Lower Merion High School for the first time. I cannot say it was one of those love at first sight moments in Disney movies where light shines on you and music plays in the background. I knew it was high school. I knew it would take some time getting used to the new surroundings. I was prepared for what came my way. And yes, I was the new kid.

Picture this, a timid little Asian girl with a New Zealand accent entering a community that grows stronger by the second. One cannot understand how it must feel to be new to a school until he or she has experienced it for him or herself. While it is not nearly as bad as the show “Recess” portrays it to be, it is still a challenge. But I am not about whine about having to make friends as

a sixteen year old. Rather, I would like to thank everyone for your open arms. Ever since my first day at Lower Merion, I’ve only been showered with smiles, kindness, and welcoming circles of friends. The warmth and acceptance from all of you has really touched my heart and made my transition from a kiwi to a bulldog effortless.

The school spirit at LM is captivating. I had never been to such a rousing and lively pep rally before. I had never seen four buses head out an hour away for a school basketball game. I had never seen a principle adorned in maroon and white at a football match cheering at the top of his lungs.

Next fall, many of you will be in the same situation that I was in, surrounded by people you have never met before in your life. I have three words of advice for you. Firstly, speak up. Talk to your classmates, your professors, even strangers on the street.

Don’t be afraid to raise your voice, because chances are, they want to hear all about you. Secondly, make the most of your options. Take risks and be daring to try new things. After all, college is that time to be adventurous, to explore all possibilities, and to find your passions. And lastly—you knew this one was coming—always be yourself, because only then will you make friendships that last a lifetime.

There will undoubtedly be many tears in the upcoming days. But I cry with happiness knowing that these tears are tears of joy, of laughter, of excitement. We are not just graduating from high school, but also from the first part of our lives. We are adults now, and going forth, we must make wise decisions for our future. But we can only be serious for so long. Let’s just have fun right now. We deserve a little slack.

After all, we did it. We survived high school.

Forget about all the worrying, start living

Han Tran Let’s face it: high school is really just a blip on the horizon. It’s (hopefully) only four years long. Putting that into perspective, the average life expectancy in the United States is 79 years. That means that high school only compromises around a measly 5 percent of our lives. With that in mind, it’s mind-boggling that people put so much emphasis on “the high school experience” (and yes, I am fully aware that I should have taken my own advice).

I am not saying to entirely disregard high school and slack off. What I mean to say is that all of us should use these four years as an opportunity for growth, self-discovery, and fun (assuming none of this fun conflicts with our health or legal standing). In the end, it

won’t really matter how many tests you aced, how many hours you put into extracurricular activities, or how you wore your hair. It’s also unlikely that what you do in high school will have a tremendous impact on where you end up thirty years from now. What will matter most are the memories that you’ll take with you from high school. In the end I think we’d all rather be able to say that we spent high school having a blast over saying that we slaved laboriously over assignments.

So use high school as an opportunity to act like a kid while you still can! I know that this may sound intuitive and demotivational, but life gets harder as you get older. Soon you may actually find yourself missing the time when you only had homework and exams to worry about. With so much freedom, it only makes sense to use high school as a chance to discover yourself and learn who you really are. Try out a new club, make new friends, learn a new instrument, try a new hobby, etc.

If you fall flat on your face, don’t fret too much.

Just pick yourself up, learn whatever lesson there is to be learned, and move on. At the very least you’ll be able to say that you won’t have to wonder what would have happened if you tried something new.

Perhaps high school is just a measly and meaningless four years. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make the most of this time.

I think we’d all rather be able to say that we spent high school having a blast over saying that we slaved laboriously over assignments.

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June 10, 2011

Seniors 2011

The Merionite

With lessons learned, I thank you, Lower Merion Thank you, Lower Merion High School, for the academic, athletic, and social experiences that have helped shape my personality, perception, and goals. A lesson can be derived from every encounter, and to appreciate LMHS is to recognize and remember these encounters while analyzing them in search of moral meaning. While I consider the academic knowledge that I accumulated at LM to be important, its value cannot contend with the social lessons that I have learned from great teachers.

Michael Lemonick

Learning about Mao and the Cultural Revolution was interesting, but the appropriately intimate teacher-student relationship that Mrs. Chung was able to develop with so many different students allowed for freer expression of individuality in a classroom setting; creativity, humor, and camaraderie thrived among intense intellectual debates and learning. Unfortunately, not every class has had that attitude, but to best learn about and retain information it is imperative to inject some fun into the assignment.

The Catcher in the Rye and The Lord of the Flies were fun to read, but Mr. Murray taught me a lesson about compassion that has made me empathetic towards first time offenders, but stringent regarding second time offenders. After most of my research paper mimicked several Wikipedia pages, with turnitin.com as the revealing investigator, Mr. Murray recognized my regret and gave me a second chance. Elitism was disproven, as was invincibility.

I may be the only person that Mr. Grace has kicked out of class, and when I tried to forge a nurse’s note because of my lateness to class one day, I found myself sitting in Mr. Arnold’s office explaining my dishonest actions with inevitable detention hovering over my head. This is an extreme case,

Coming full circle

Aging is often thought to be a linear process. Inevitable, interminable, we cannot stop the passage of time, nor stop celebrating birthdays. This may be true, but I see high school as circular: more specifically, as an upward spiral.

I remember my first day of freshman year as if it were yesterday—5’1”, metal-mouthed, and bushy-haired.

Sure, my physical appearance has changed: I got my braces off and my hair issues worked out, or so I like to think. The majority of the differences between freshman and senior Sarah, however, are purely bodily. I am still the same person. The same butterflies beat their wings in my stomach on the first day of freshman year as the last day of senior year.

At the end of it all, I can see that it’s remarkably like the beginning. High school started with a bang, and ended with a bang. There will always be intermittent bangs, surrounded by long periods of tedium characterized by restlessness, complaints, and Sporcle. The only fix for these down times is to wait it out, and excitement invariably comes knocking again. Thus, the circle repeats itself.

That is not to say that I leave Lower Merion with the same quantity of knowledge as I had upon matriculation. As a green 14 year old I had never heard of Taylor Series, nor Immanuel Kant, nor molecular orbital theory. I have learned much, this is undeniable—and also not the most important thing. Progress should not be measured in quantity of knowledge, but rather in quality of character. Mr. Hughes’ constant reminders of responsibility and compassion, examples of diligence and curiosity set by teachers: these are the most significant lessons learned. In this way, I think that Lower Merion helped me progress, and shaped me into a mature young adult.

It will serve us well to remember: the person who walked into LM for the first time four years ago is the same person who will walk across the stage to accept a diploma next week. We may know a bit more about the Great Awakening, or how to conjugate Spanish irregulars, but what’s most important—our character— has only improved. We must always allow ourselves to be molded by our surroundings, and to soak up the best that our environments have to offer. It is only then that we can look back and say honestly—it’s been a good four years.

Sarah Zimmerman

but almost everything that we did in Mr. Grace’s class was supported by a research project that was loosely monitored

by Mr. Grace. With basic guidelines, we would explore the works of famous Enlightenment authors. Honesty was critical to success during these projects: honestly doing our work and presenting our findings.

As a cocky, frantic LMHS junior, I ran into Mrs. ShustaBrown advisory and loudly interrupted her conversation with another student by asking if she could sign one of the old, yellow advisory passes for me. Not surprisingly, I was kicked out of her classroom and asked to come back tomorrow with my manners intact. During classroom debates, there was no interrupting and everyone was given a fair voice in an argument, where often in Mrs. Chung’s classroom the loudest person was given the privilege of speaking. Consider everyone’s voice, and respect your peers’ ideas.

Here are four short examples of the guidance that LMHS has provided from its spectacular faculty. Coaches Severini, Fadely, Cronin, Moyer, and Haglund have taught me more than how to run quickly or kick a ball. I will do my best to remember my mistakes and lessons in the next stage of my life, never thinking that my character is done developing.

Acting on impulse

Sitting in English class during sophomore year, Mrs. Roy had us doing a Socratic seminar. Literally all you had to do to get an A was speak up and say something moderately thoughtful.

I sat in disbelief as students had to be coaxed out of silence to give an opinion about Holden Caulfield. I think it was so hard for me to understand their silence because what they were missing in not speaking was something so vital to my high school career: spontaneity.

Speaking in class may be a very small example of spontaneity, but it is one that we can all relate to. To me, spontaneity is one of the biggest reasons that I loved Lower Merion to an almost fanatical degree. Something spontaneous, as defined by the dictionary on these fine 1:1 laptops, is “performed or occurring as a result of a sudden inner impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus.” It is the “why not?” impulse, and the decision to submit to it or not is one that every high school student toys with. During the fall pep rally this year, I was ecstatic to see the majority of the senior class (and much of the junior class) stand up and shake it to “Dynamite” during the teacher dance. At one moment, dozens of students had the same thought, “am I really going to do this?” and at the same time these students answered “why the hell not!” So as I recall times when I left class to Tecktonik in the bathroom, or sat in on rehearsals for plays I wasn’t in, or model walked down the annex hallway when no one was looking (yea, it happened), I invite each one of you reading this to do something weird and unexpected today. If someone half-jokingly invites you to sit in on their class during your free; go! Break the monotony for god’s sake, because we all know the block schedule will be there when you get back.

Maggie Walker

Finding my own voice amongst the rest If you had told me 2-3 years ago that I would be writing a senior reflection for the Merionite, I would have thought you had confused me with someone else.

You see, a year and a half ago, I was something of an introverted, antisocial cipher, not always certain where to sit during lunch. My extracurriculars were basically moribund, and I was feeling devoid of purpose. My sometimes overbearing –yet beloved- mother would constantly advise me to do some extracurricular activity. “You’ll need it for college,” she would say.

Yes, I would need it for college. But what’s more, I would need it for some spunk in my life.

On a brisk day in February of 2010, an old friend urged me to audition for Players’ spring comedy, Twelfth Night. I thought to myself, “Yeah, I think I’d like that.” I picked up an audition monologue, hoping not too many people would see me doing so. I cared too much about what others thought. After earning a part in that play, I was excited about a new opportunity. I went into the rehearsal process open to new people and feeling comfortable putting all the energy I had into my role. For the first time I felt appreciated by people I had not known before.

I made several new friends and restored older friendships. My confidence soared. So, too, did my crushes on many of the thensenior girls involved in the production.

From there I developed a willingness to try other opportunities Lower Merion had to offer. I ran for Vice President of my

class and tried out for Voice of the Aces. This process of venturing out of my comfort zone was new and exciting for me.

Freshman year I had dabbled with sports such as Freshman Soccer. I tried Baseball for one final season, earning the label of “liability” from a teammate. Athletics was not my calling –there is plenty of talent elsewhere to fill that role- but rather speech, humor, performance, discussion, and debate were. I found myself in Mock Trial, World Affairs Club, Players, and behind the overhead to read the announcements each morning and recite the pledge (or attempt to, anyway). I know far more about who I am at high school’s end than I did at its beginning.

Lower Merion is an enterprise of opportunities. It is a community of citizens from many backgrounds, possessing different strengths. There are those with special social savvy and those with astute academic abilities. There are earnestly passionate educators and intense yet approachable administrators.

LM offers fun, difficulty, success, and yes, failure. This past year, I auditioned for another play, and did not earn a role. At first, I was upset. I felt that I had performed well in the first two plays I had been part of. However, reflecting on that occurrence, I conclude that there must be someone casted in that play that was uplifted by the experience, as I had been a short year before.

Further, having seen the cast’s performance, I can attest that they had put it together right. I had other activities to focus on anyway, activities that would not have existed had it not been for the

confidence boost I had received a year before.

The results of my increased confidence and participation were overwhelmingly positive. I was able to be myself, and therefore meet many wonderful friends, with whom I will stay in touch for years. This year you have probably found me prancing around the school from person to person, teacher to teacher, talking it up. I am now comfortable with all sorts of different peers. Thank god, for the class of 2011 is one hell of a bunch, all of whom I will collectively miss. I mused with a friend the other day that I wish I could marry everyone in my grade. Too bad such a feat is impossible!

Dave Huppert

LM Matriculation 2011: Go Forth To Serve...

Margeaux Abrams Richard Adger Ernest Ahweza Stephen Allen Maija Aro-Bailey Garrett Baker Mark Baker Erika Bar-David Shira Barlas Harrison Barth Talia Baurer Justin Bender Madeline Berger Talia Berger Bryan Berman Lauren Berman Myles Bernbaum Matthew Bernstein Andrea Bing Nicholas Blatt Lenna Blistein Michael Blumenthal Pauline Bogad Chloe Bollentin Helen Braunstein Nathaniel Bressi Molly Broscoe Benjamin Brown Abigail Bryman Michael Buchwald Jason Buckman Kathryn Callahan Daniel Callaway Michael Capkin Lucas Chambers Avi Chatterjee Scott Cheloha James Chimekas Maria Chinwalla LeeAnn Choi Samuel Christian Marc Ciamaichelo Jr. Andrew Cichewicz Thomas. Clark Alyssa Clinkscales Kevin Clobes Claire Cochrane Anne Coglianese Jesse Cohen Cayla Conover Monica Coran Leanna Crutchfield Norbert Csordas Adam Dai Severine Dalembert Madeline David Julian Davis Helen DeHaven Jake Delman John Nathaniel Diehl Jennarose DiGiacomo Joaneah Dixson Rachel Dolezal Casey Dorn Itai Doron Brandon Downs David Dranoff Joseph Dubrow Jake Dulitzki Elizabeth Dunoff Emily Durante Jeremy Eckstein Benjamin Edelman Sydney Ehrman Zachary Eikov Sarah Eisenlohr Colin Eisenstaedt Elliot Elbaum Naava Feingold

George Washington University Unavailable Cabrini College Boston University Hiram Andrews Technical Institute Wake Forest University Undecided Temple University Occidental College Drexel University Wesleyan University Cornell University University of Southern California Pennsylvania State University Temple University Muhlenberg College Work University of Colorado at Boulder Unavailable New York University Boston University Indiana University Pratt Institute (Class of 2016) Smith College Arizona State University Continuing Studies at LMHS/Work West Virginia University Work Military Cornell University Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania State University Work University of Maryland Johns Hopkins University United States Naval Academy Pennsylvania State University Indiana University of Pennsylvania Temple University Carnegie Mellon University Indiana University University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Loyola University of Maryland Lincoln University, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University Tufts University Unavailable Pennsylvania State University Temple University Dickinson College Drexel University Temple University Johns Hopkins University Temple University Bates College The Evergreen State College Loyola University Maryland George Washington University Clemson University Cabrini College Lock Haven University Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University Emory University Undecided Temple University Montgomery County CC Temple University/Cortiva School Williams College (Class of 2016) Skidmore College Pennsylvania State University Undecided Tulane University Pennsylvania State University Kenyon College University of Michigan Year Off New York University

Seth Feldman Conor Ferguson Tierra Ferguson Matias Fernandez-Duque Sloan Fernbach Abel Finta Samuel Fischer Thomas Fischer.

Danielle Flanders Zoe Flaxenburg James Flowers II Arman Force Marisa Fraimow Nicholas Francis Ana Franco Aaron Freedman Isaac Freedman Kurt S. Freundlich Aaron Friggle David Gao Sarah Garrity Jonathan Gilbert Timothy Gilboy Kris Gjika Kane Gladnick Katherine Glick Benjamin Glickman Alicia Goff Madelyne Gold Alexander Golden Elizabeth Goldenberg Sarah Goldsmith Gabrielle Goldstein Joshua Goldstein Mayra Gomez Emily Goodman Rachel Gordon Shoshana Gordon Alexa Grabell Eric Green Stephanie Denise Green Jenna Greensweig Alexandria Gregory John N. Greulich Charlotte Griffiths Ellie Grohoske Ziyu Gu Raina Haas Darius Hall Khadaijah Hall Sheba Hall T’Nia Hammond Elizabeth Hanlon Rasmiyyah Hargust Dejaun Harris Rebecca Hazany Oliver Herrine Ashton Hicks Jonathan Hirsch Stanley Hoffman Maya Holland Samuel Hollin Jacob Holzman Khadijah Hope-Moore Nathan Horowitz Cameron Howard Nicole Howard David Huppert YoonSun Hwang Mark Isaacson Danijela Ivanovic Malik Jackson Jade James Olivia James Yun Gun Jo Anthony Johnson Garry Johnson Nicholas Johnson Colton Jones

Lehigh University DePaul University West Chester University University of Pennsylvania Unavailable Pennsylvania State University Whitman College Year Off University of Michigan Tulane University Temple University Drexel University Pennsylvania State University Montgomery County Community College Drexel University Pennsylvania State University University of Pittsburgh University of the Arts Undecided University of Michigan Pennsylvania State University George Washington University Columbia University Georgia Institute of Technology Pennsylvania State University McGill University Johns Hopkins University Drexel University University of Delaware University of Vermont University of Michigan Bennington College DePaul University University of Alabama Pennsylvania State University, Brandywine Indiana University University of Massachusetts, Amherst Oberlin College Vanderbilt University Manor College Work University of Pittsburgh Wesley College Albright College Tufts University University of Cincinatti University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh Marymount University Indiana University of Pennsylvania Manhattan College Unavailable Kutztown University Temple University Military Goucher College Juniata College Unavailable Year Off Syracuse University Bloomsburg University University of Pennsylvania Northeastern University Indiana University of Pennsylvania Montgomery County Community College Delaware County Community College West Chester University of Pennsylvania George Washington University Pennsylvania State University University of Michigan Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton Immaculata University West Chester University of Pennsylvania Hampton University Unavailable Montgomery County Community College City Year Georgia Institute of Technology Syracuse University

Lila Jones Lindsay Jones Sarah Joseph Alyssa Kaplan Cody Kaplan Ryan King Chloe Kirkland Brendan Kittredge Sarah Klein Aleksei Klincewicz Caroline Kocent Perry Kohl-Drucker Harry Kohn Nechama Korn Noah Kosherick Sarah Kozak Mark Krantz Alexa Kuenstler Daniel Kunz Leah Kuttruff Eleanore Lail Jamie Lam Kennie Lam Jess Lebow Kaitlin Lederer Michael Lefkoe Liyu Lei Mark Leitch Zachary Lemisch Michael Lemonick Michael Leonard David Levin Benjamin Levitt Lisa Li Eric Lieberman Stephen Lipman Bradley Litt Daniel Litt Frances Loeb Julia Loeb David Long Pier Lopez Samuel Lord Robert Love Michael Lowney Haolin Kevin Lu Michael Lyde Jessica Mancuso Rachel Maniloff Hayley Mansfield Dakota Marine Robert Marlowe Erin Marshall Elizabeth Martin Lia Mastrogiacomo Emmett McConnell Patrick McDonough Jason McGonigle Michael McGowan Robert McGowan Katherine McGrath Matthew McKenna Sebastian Medina Sophie Mellman Samuel Mervis Farrin Metzman Heidi Miller Julia Miller Lindsay Miller Walker Mills Robert Mirow Max Molinari Nicholas Moore Samantha Morgan Britnee Morris John Morrison Danielle Moskow Benjamin Munroe Anna Murphy

Montgomery County Community College University of Pittsburgh Tulane University Pennsylvania State University Temple University College of Charleston Continuing Studies at LMHS Montgomery County Community College Temple University Loyola University of Maryland Boston University Unavailable Pennsylvania State University Travel University of the Sciences DePaul University Pennsylvania State University Rochester University West Virginia University College of Charleston Moore College of Art University of California, Los Angeles Delaware County Community College Hamilton College West Chester University of Pennsylvania Lehigh University University of Illinois Pennsylvania State University George Washington University United States Naval Academy Philadelphia University Towson University (Class of 2016) Bucknell University Dartmouth College Pennsylvania State University Temple University Binghapton University (Class of 2016) Binghamton School (Class of 2016) Johns Hopkins University University of Colorado at Boulder Unavailable James Madison University University of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania College of Technology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Pennsylvania Immaculata University Temple University Cornell University Temple University Indiana University University of Miami Pennsylvania State University Immaculata University Temple University Wesleyan University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Unavailable Bucknell University East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh Indiana University Unavailable University of Tampa University of Vermont University of Delaware Ithaca College Bucknell University Temple University Brown University Montgomery County Community College Drexel University College of Charleston Drexel University Pennsylvania State University Eastern University Emory University Unavailable Indiana University, Bloomington

Samantha Mwaka Joseph Myers Patricia Neckowicz Rachel Newell Jonas Newschaffer Bradley Niesen Nicholas Normile Joshua Novak Cara Ocampo Sara Orkline Liora Ostroff Daniel Ostrow Zachary Ostrum Teona Otarashvili Mariel Frances Owen-Simon Catherine Page Theodore Parashes Steven Paul Audrey Perlman Jessica Perna-Elia Viviana Pernot Daniel Peterson Laura Peterson Elizabeth Phillipson-Weiner Andrew Pitt Sarah Pogolowitz Jonah Portman Julie Prizer Leah Puklin Samuel Raper Jeffrie Ray Emily Red Lydia Richardson Catherine Rideout Lauren Ritterband Gregory Robinson Jennifer Rosen Cecilia Rosenbaum Emylie Rosenbaum Leah Rosenbloom David Rosenfeld Adrienne Ross Molly Rowe Matthew Rublin Jennifer Ruckenstein Sasha Safavi Rachel Sagalow Eliza Sankar-Gorton Daniel Sansweet Alexis Santos Jose Santos Nazim Satar Adam Schaffer Paul Schimpff Ella Schwamm Griffin Schwartz Taylor Scott Erin Segal Victoria Seidman Darryl Seligman Krystal Shakes Isabel Shapiro Justin Shapiro Emily Shepard Julia Siegal Isaac Silber David Silberthau Mayan Silkoff Anna Simon Louis Smith-Barlas John Sniffen Samantha Snyder Sajen Solberg Sarah Spector Aaron Staley Jonathan Stark Daniel Stein John Stevens Julia Straus

Neumann University Tulane University Daniel Summers Hampshire College Lebanon Valley College Carli Swartz Dartmouth College University of California, Los Angeles Andrew Sy University of California, Berkely Pennsylvania State University Mengling Tang Undecided Temple University Efecan Tatar Philadelphia CC (Class of 2014) Jacksonville University Mattie Techner University of Pennsylvania Unavailable Amanda Thai Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania State University Alexander Thames University of Pittsburgh Undecided Jessica Tilker Fairleigh Dickinson University-Maryland Alexandra Toll University of Massachusetts, Amherst Year Off University of the Sciences Oyinkansola Towolawi University of Pittsburgh Princeton University Han Tran Virginia Tech Unavailable Joseph Tran Pennsylvania State University Penn State University, Brandywine Julie Tran University of Vermont Syracuse University Kristi Tu Washington University in St. Louis Kutztown University Halle Turner Continuing Studies at LMHS Washington University in St. Louis Jessica Ulan Undecided Drexel University Clare Unkovic West Chester University of Pennsylvania Audrey Utkus Georgetown University Manhattan College Unavailable Alexander Valentine University of Michigan Cabrini College Gustavo Vallejo Wake Forest University Montgomery County Community College Alejandro Veguilla Wake Forest University University of Colorado at Boulder Benjamin Wachs New York University Work/Year Off Lucas Wagner Arcadia University University of North Carolina Margaret Walker Binghamton University Unavailable Shirrica Walls Temple University Pennsylvania State University Lian Wang Lehigh University Unavailable Mariah Waties Connecticut College Tulane University Joshua Weinberg University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University Caroline Weiss School of Visual Arts Vanderbilt University (Class of 2016) Daniel Weitz Fort Lewis College Vanderbilt University Richard Weker Delaware County Community College Jake Wellens California Institute of Technology Villanova University Unavailable Tiffany Weyant Tufts University Undecided Briana White University of Delaware Undecided Walter Whiteman Case Western Reserve University University of British Columbia Alexandra Wikler Vassar College Colorado College Maia Wikler University of Delaware University of Maryland Najee Williams University of Massachusetts Amherst Temple University Caitlin Wilson Franklin & Marshall College Unavailable Marlee Wilson University of Pennsylvania New York University Samantha Wischnia Year Off Unavailable Pedro Xia University of Pennsylvania Boston University Wenwen Yang Pennsylvania State University University of Pennsylvania Jeremy Yodh Binghamton University Brandeis University Marc Zebrowitz University of Maryland Brandeis University Jonathan Zeidman Wesleyan University University of Vermont Lauren Zelouf Georgetown University University of Vermont Rachel Zelouf Indiana University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Neil Zhang University at Albany, SUNY University of Pennsylvania Yukuan Zhang Year Off Elizabethtown College Ezekiel Zimmer University of Arizona Columbia University Sarah Zimmerman Year Off University of Chicago Loyola University of New Orleans Tulane University Lehigh University Indiana University University of Pennsylvania Maryland Institute College of Art Pennsylvania State University University of Maryland University of Massachusetts, Amherst Franklin & Marshall College University of Pennsylvania Columbia University University of Colorado at Boulder Boston University West Virginia University Vassar College Pennsylvania State University Philadelphia University Amherst College Unavailable Vassar College The editors of The Merionite offer our sincere regrets to Skidmore College anyone not mentioned in this year’s Matriculation list.

Unavailable We wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors.

University of Delaware

8

June 10, 2011

Seniors 2011

The Merionite

Don’t appreciate your experiences too late Senior year… I heard that it would be “easy” and “a piece of cake” but time would tell that these were false predictions.

Before February, senioritis was nothing but a comical myth to me. However, the day my acceptance letter came from Syracuse, that myth had become a reality. Homework was a thing of the past, studying was on occasion if there was nothing good on television and test and quizzes were taken as if I had learned the material that day (Usually because that was the case). Sleeping in class became a ritual in which I would play a game with myself to see how long it would take for my teacher to notice I was actually asleep. After a while, I began to find creative ways to hide my sleeping from my teachers. I found myself sitting at a desk counting down the number of days until we

got out for vacation (senior project).

They say, “you never know what you have until it’s gone” and this has proven itself to be true. During the days leading up to

They say, ‘you never know what you have until it’s gone’, and this has proven itself to be true.

Colton Jones

graduation, I realize that the moment when we wave goodbye to each other is quickly approaching. We tell each other we’ll visit one another in college but that’s as false of a statement as “detention if you don’t sign up for academic recovery” is. Truthfully, there’s a new world beyond high school

that presents many challenges along the way. You learn a lot about yourself in high school but you truly start to determine the type of person you are in college (so they say). It has been a memorable four years with peers that I will never forget. And what better to top off a great four years than a messy food fight in the cafeteria (not funny!). To the seniors, I wish you all the best of luck, and may your college years be plentiful of many things that will not be said in this newspaper. To the underclassmen, appreciate your youth because when you get older you have to start paying for gas and it adds up. To the teachers, well yeah you guys have to pay for gas too so you know what I’m talking about! But honestly, I thank my teachers for pushing me and not settling for the bare minimum. Lower Merion has been real! I love you all!

Value the friends you make and the places you go I looked down at my schedule to triple-check, then up at the room number. My nervousness subsided for a second. I located the right classroom and I wasn’t even late. A moment later, though, upon entering Spanish 2, my anxiety resurged. Scanning the room I recognized one or two faces peppered among the freshmen. I felt alone. I had attended Welsh Valley, and the vast majority of my classmates split off to Harriton. At my time of vulnerability they were probably eagerly recounting exciting summer tales and misadventures. What was I to do?

My response was to befriend everyone; everyone was a potential friend. And while I made friends fairly quickly, even to this day I don’t identify with one group of people. I have friends I hang out with consistently, but often times they span the social spectrum.

No doubt there have been downsides to this reality as many circles of friends existed long before and continued through high school. It’s very difficult to join a group like this when you simply don’t share the same experiences with them. But in the end, my social endeavors at Lower Merion define who I am today.

I am proud. At Lower Merion I was forced to explore each

and every social scene. At some point or another I tried to befriend people from every group. And by spreading myself everywhere, I found out exactly who I was. When I approached someone new I had to gauge my own interests with his. Different social groups acted as a barometer for me. I compared and contrasted and found out who I was comfortable with and who I wasn’t. I learned where I belong and who I am by matching myself against others.

I’ve come to realize now that I may never be able to discover myself again this way. Most students attending Columbia already share certain qualities, and in two years I will have even more in common with those who I will share a major with. In the professional world I will be surrounded by people who have the same passion as well. As it turns out, my time at Lower Merion may end up being my most diverse years.

My advice goes to the underclassmen. Sophomores and especially freshmen still have shifting groups of friends. Much will still change in the next two or three years. You will probably lose some friends, and gain others, and based on my experience I recommend you embrace rather than fight that. There is so much and are so many people to learn from in our microcosm of the

Immerse Yourself

Ms. Mastriano would always remind our class that she preferred to teach only sophomores. Sophomore year, Unlike freshman year where you’re new to the

Dan Sansweet

school, extracurricular life, and workload, junior year where you’re taking AP classes and studying for SATs, and senior year where you’re applying to and preparing for college, your job as a sophomore is simply to be in high school.

I advise that you try to make other years like sophomore year – join clubs and sports teams early freshman year to get acclimated, take SATs or ACTs in September or October to get them over with, and apply early to your top choice to try to get that process over with. When you’re always looking forward to the next step, taking four years to prepare for the next

four, you miss the steps on the way – so enjoy sophomore year and take time every other year to be in high school!

As students, I think it’s safe to say that many of us work best when we face adversity. The best way to take advantage of this is not through procrastination, but by pushing yourself with a tough schedule. Tough classes will motivate you to try harder. Though I don’t consider English to be my strong point academically, I challenged myself by taking AP Language and AP Literature and enjoyed both classes. Take classes that sound interesting or out of your comfort zone – you never know what will pique your interest. My last piece of advice for current and future LM students is to join clubs and sports teams to meet students from other grades and social circles.

Who knows, you might also enjoy it. I learned this lesson after joining the crosscountry team after thinking I could never enjoy distance running: Needless to say, I did. My friends could lovingly make fun of each other for missing hangouts for cross country meets, mock trial meetings, and Improv open sessions. We got involved and expanded from our own social group, giving us multiple eyes into the social atmosphere at LM. Get involved and work hard. Go to sports games – go aces. And don’t forget to relax and be a sophomore every once in a while – the next four years will come soon enough.

world. Don’t try to befriend everyone, but at least try and understand them, because then you’ll better understand yourself. Don’t let suburban stereotypes blind you from seeing how different each and every one of your classmates are, and how much you can learn from them. It may be easy to play it safe, to stick with the tried and true, but you’ll never know what could have been until you try.

David Silberthau

Lessons Learned

High school has taught me a lot of stuff. Not just gov, chem, or physics. Not just topics and facts, but how to think critically, analytically, and lovingly, about the world in which we all live. It taught me how to pick something apart to its absolute smallest parts in order to understand its worth on the absolute grandest scale. How to derive artful and beautiful value—of history, or mathematics, or French—from a learning process, that, as a freshman, seemed to me so technical, monotonous, and daunting.

Beyond that, high school taught the difference between those with whom I’m “friendly” and my best friends. The ones I sit with at lunch, and whom I can rely on for help with homework, even if it’s at the very last minute and it’s something I could or should do myself.

And of course, who’s going to ask me.

And high school has taught me the difference between being sincerely and being politely nice, and that there’s a time and place for both. And it has taught me what I like learning, and what I don’t, and that school’s not the biggest thing in the world, that it doesn’t determine or dictate or encompass your life, unless you allow it to.

Yet despite my trying to not let it do just that, high school has also taught me plenty about frustration and procrastination. Countless things that I thought of as stupid, pointless, and stressful. And painful. And blah. And it’s taught me cynicism, and how to determine if a teacher is playing favorites or

if I’m just being bitter because I don’t feel like I’m one of them.

But ultimately, high school is one of the things I’ll miss most about my youth. Because high school has taught me about how I learn, about how to appreciate my friends and my home, and how to appreciate snow days or just hope for them, and high school has taught me how lucky I am to actually have a high school like the one I do. Because to be blunt, Lower Merion is just awesome, and don’t forget it.

Friends, frustration, procrastination, who to sit with at lunch, how to think critically versus cramming for the latest French test. High school has taught me what it means to be alive. While everyone else is congratulating me and wishing me luck for the “real world” to come, I keep thinking that high school, at least for me, has been a true world of its own. And I’m really excited to see what comes next, to move forward and upwards and onwards into who-knows-what, but I am going to miss high school a whole hell of a lot at the same time.

I certainly did not live any kind of charmed life high school career, so you can take it from me. It is so worth it. Please enjoy the ideas, experiences, and memories of it as much as, if not a million times more than, I did. It’ll make you happy, and proud, and who wouldn’t want that?

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

Benjamin Edelman

9

June 10, 2011

The Merionite

Reach out and indulge your interests, be your best Class of 2011—first of all, congratulations on your accomplishments! In front of you are some of the most special years of your life. George Bernard Shaw opined that youth is wasted on the young—but I trust that it won’t be wasted on you.

If you are headed to college...embrace the chal-

When given the opportunity, do a little extra. Try to leave every situation better than you found it. lenge. The grades are important, the friends you make are more important, and what you learn is most important. Reach out to people who are unlike you.

Indulge your interests but choose a goal early and keep your eyes on it. Stretch outside yourself; this is the end of the part of your life when it is easy to sing in a group, to play your violin in an orchestra, to row a shell, to dance on a stage. To those headed to the military and the workforce... continue striving. Be the best version of yourself. When given the opportunity, do a little extra. Try to leave every situation better than you found it.And most importantly...Come back and visit us! Best of luck.

Nora Christman Physics

Embrace life’s challenges, understand its changes

Brian Feeney Mathematics

I’m often frustrated with my inability to recall many of the events I’ve experienced over the years. I’m sure many of you will speculate about the reasons why I have poor recall, but I just don’t think my brain is wired for that. Nonetheless, I’m amazed at how vivid my memories are from the summer I graduated high school in June 1987.

A large group of fellow Council Rockers spent a week after graduation in glorious Wildwood, NJ. The best thing I can say about the house we stayed in is that they tore it down a year or two after we were there. I did all the typical things one would do without parental supervi-

sion, like getting my ear pierced (only to take it out three days later when my Dad “promised” to come down and rip it out… along with my ear). I also got to the front door of a tattoo place all geared up to get a “Fred Flintstone” on my calf, but had a moment of clarity and walked away. Later that summer, I took a couple of road trips – one to Myrtle Beach with some friends to golf and another down to Florida, where we mooched couch space from a friend who had already started college classes there. Each trip contained its own memories, from the red ant invasion I encountered while rolling around on the dunes in Myrtle getting to know a new friend to the endless laughter of our group when one of us had “nitro” sauce and chicken pieces gushing from his nose and mouth after failing to finish, on a dare, a plate of wings. Looking back, I realize that a huge change was taking place. I was making probably the biggest transition in my life. I was in the process of trying on my independence as I headed off to Penn State and continued to create so many more memories…a few that I can recall. I am so glad that I took advantage of that time in my life and have such lasting memories of my world opening up and expanding right before my eyes. If I could condense all my experiences from that summer into one piece of advice, it would be to embrace the changes that you encounter.

Embrace the challenges that college and work and life bring, embrace the friendships you make along the way. Go ahead and be a “hugger” and embrace your future!! Congratulations seniors!!

Embrace the challenges that college and work and life bring, embrace the friendships that you make along the way ... embrace your future!

Seniors 2011

Reflecting on balance, a “mom version” of Shusta

“Have a great weekend.

Be safe. Do nothing foolish. I want to see you on Monday.” Although I won’t be seeing you on Monday, perhaps this sentiment has added significance now that you’re leaving for the next stage of your journey.

I could have reflected on why you are such a special class to me personally and to the school community as a whole. I could have culled together a series of sweet and funny memories spanning from when you were freshmen until now. I could have written a Letterman Top Ten list of my favorite moments from when I had you in class. Instead you’re going to get the mom version of Shusta.

Let’s reflect on balance.

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” is a ridiculous way to live life. If you cheat or do something extraordinarily reckless, you will get caught. You might not get caught the first time you do it, but it will happen. You may even get thrown out of college. Good luck going home and telling your parents that news.

“My coach says I don’t have to attend class” is a sure way for your brain to remain perpetually 18 years old. Plus, the statistics are against you turning pro.

“My roommate says I don’t have to attend class.” Unless your roommate is going to provide for you for the rest of your life, get up when your alarm goes off, grab some breakfast and go learn something from someone wiser than you.

“I can’t go to class because the love of my life broke up with me.” Go to class and meet the next love of your life.

“I want all of my classes to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Since “Basic Oil Painting,” “Advanced Astrophysics” and the “Ethics Plaguing Local Fisheries” are not part of your major, you’ll be in school for at least two extra years.

Now the flip side…

“I can’t go to the party with you because I have to go to the library for the 232nd night in a row” might be why you feel disconnected and detached from the rest of the entire student body.

“I can’t go to the cafeteria, commissary, student union because I don’t know anyone” will guarantee you’ll be eating dry cereal for every meal. Being uncomfortable leads to growth. Just think, you may be thrown together in line for a

Dana Shusta-Brown English

Your real education begins the moment mom and dad pull away with you in their rearview mirror. slice of pizza with your future partner.

“I’m going to bed every night at 8:00 so my GPA will remain perfect” will ensure your roommate runs to the housing office to ensure you will no longer be roommates.

“I’m taking 21 credits each semester so that I can get out early.” If that is for financial, medical or some other logical reason, okay. Otherwise, 15 credits per semester, 30 per year, 120 by the time you graduate in four is fast enough.

“My real education will begin in graduate school.” Your real education begins the moment mom and dad pull away with you in their rearview mirror.

So…be safe. Do nothing foolish. And most importantly, know that you have many people in your life, some you haven’t even met yet, who want to see you on Monday.

10

June 10, 2011

The Merionite

Impressions of an influential class

Seniors 2011

your sense of humor, and your curiosity commands attention simply by its decency and integrity. It is true that as ninth graders some of you were kind of frisky but you still definitely made yourself known and heard!! I am grateful that so many of you—frisky or not— know that true learning is as noble and pleasurable as an end in itself; that you have the tenacity to think through a problem; that everyone deserves respect; that you are patient and forgiving with your family, your teachers and each other. I am confident that many of you will put extraordinary talents into the world, that many of you will offer your compassion in care for others, that you will offer your friendship to others and form communities. I am proud that you will make sure that your statements and questions and character will be known in your next chapter.

Diane Sweeney Mathematics On my desk is a quote from a late folk-singer named Utah Phillips: “In your life, sooner or later, you’ve got to say what you are going to authentically inherit and what you are going to put into the world.” I am struck by how many of you have already put your wisdom and your kindness into the world. Your presence is palpable; in the frenzy of the school year, your earnestness, your friendships,

In your life, sooner or later, you’ve got to say what you are going to authentically inherit and what you are going to put into thie world.

Wynne StovallJohnson Mathematics

To all of the graduates, these are some of the things that I’ve learned since graduating from high school: • College is the best four years of your life if you “play your cards right.”

• Karma is real, both good and bad.

• People don’t think about you nearly as much as you think they do.

• Treat others the way you would want someone to treat your grandmother, mother or favorite aunt.

• The good friendships that you form in college, if you’re lucky, will most likely be friendships that you will have for life.

Once you go to college you will, more likely than not, lose contact with most or all of your high school friends. So, in the grand scheme of things, your high school friends will only have been a small part of your life.

• Life is not a game. Life is not about “getting over” on adults, your parents, your teachers, or whoever else you think you may be “getting over” on at the moment. What you choose to do or choose not to do will ALWAYS have consequences for you and others around you. Some of those consequences will be immediate, some not so much and other consequences will be long term.

• Don’t take life personally when things go wrong or don’t go the way you planned. Sometime things just happen. And when people you know or strangers treat you unkindly it’s probably NOT about you. People basically do the best that they can “in the moment” given their particular life experiences.

• College is the best four years of your life for those of you choosing that route. ENJOY it! But not too much. And recognize how lucky you are to have the opportunity to attend – it is a gift.

Your life has begun! And remember it is YOUR life to do with what you wish. Get on a path and see where it takes you.

Don’t worry - it won’t be a right or wrong path it will simply be your path and hopefully it will have many curves a few twists and a couple of turns.

Good luck to all the graduates of the class 2011 as you leave the “harbor of safety” and enter into “the sea of chance.” It was my pleasure to have been able to be a part of many of your lives. Best Wishes to all of you!

11

June 10, 2011

The Merionite

Seniors 2011

By the numbers

All Around the World: Where Seniors Will Be Next Year

Most Popular Schools for the Class of 2011

All graphics in this issue were created by Meep Zhou

Congratulations Class of 2011!

Good luck to all graduating seniors in the years to come. You have entered to learn; now go forth to serve!