Members of the class of 2020: The Forum invites you to share the highlights of your Latin experience in a column titled “Letters from the Class of 2020.” If you are interested, please email [email protected]. The following piece is written by senior and co Editor-in-Chief Alice Bolandhemat.

Dear Latin,

Coming here in 2016 was a no-brainer for me. My mother and older sisters had all attended Latin and loved it. Bring on the boathouse, I thought. And even though that boathouse has been sitting in the back of my closest for most of my high school career, I have never once imagined myself at a different high school, singing a different fight song, or eating food from a different cafeteria/servery (still not 100% sure what we’re calling it).

I vividly remember sitting in the theater during Freshman Orientation wondering is this what all high schools are like? And with each passing day I spent at Latin, the more confident I grew in my answer: no, this is not, by any means, what all high schools are like. Not all high schools have Omelet Thursdays. Not all high schools welcome their accepted students with a PG rave (as most high schools do not have a DJ Ram). Not all high schools have a resident Invictus expert who doubles as their Head of School (my head is bloody… my head is bloody…).

In a traditional sense, I have not been the most spirited Roman in my time at Latin. I wasn’t front row at sporting events (except for Jolie’s senior night…if you haven’t been to a swim meet, you’re missing out). I didn’t participate in Spirit Fridays (it wasn’t intentional; I just never got around to purchasing orange clothing). I’m not a “lifer” (what do the colored bears mean?). And I definitely cannot recite the Alma Mater. But my time at Latin has been shaped by something else: this newspaper. The Forum is my voice, what connects me to every aspect of this community, and what will continue to connect me to Latin long after I graduate. Without The Forum, how else could I pester the student body with an abundance of emails? As saddened as the absence of things like prom, decision day, and signing the stairwell makes me, The Forum is far more tangible than any of those events, and I am beyond fortunate to have discovered it early on in my high school experience.

To those in the grades below me: the best (completely unsolicited) advice I can offer you is to cherish the moments that seem inconsequential, the faces you see every day in the halls, and the sense of community that Latin provides you with… and WRITE FOR THE FORUM! Thank you, Latin, for the most formative 3.75 years.

Sincerely,

Alice Bolandhemat ‘20

P.S.: to my junior editors, please sign my name on the stairwell in pretty handwriting. I nominate Bea and Robert (sorry Peter and Tejas, nothing personal).