Page 29 - Menlo Magazine: Winter 2018

MENLO MAGAZINE
29
Dear freshman self,
After a four-year Menlo experience and lots of reflection, I’ve come away with three main pieces of advice I wish I had known better coming into freshman orientation day.
1. Be yourself, even if you don’t know who that self is yet.
We’re living in a noisy time. Social media, teachers, counselors, friends, parents—all well-meaning—tell us who we should be and what we should do with our lives, even if that advice doesn’t always coincide with our present intentions. Though easier said than done, tune out the noise and listen to your own authentic voice, academically, socially, athletically, and artistically. Be reflective and focus on what makes you happy and what feels natural and right for you, and allow your interests to change and evolve over time. If singing makes you happy, join chorus as a freshman, even if you’ve never sung before. If you hit that growth spirit and start feeling more competitive sophomore year, play football to feed your emerging edgy side and experience the amazing team camaraderie. As an upperclassman, take advantage of a more flexible schedule to take classes you want to take, like Monsters or journalism, and not just the classes that might look more rigorous on your college application. Who you are will undoubtedly change and evolve over your four years at Menlo, so listen to yourself and follow your own good advice.
2. Live in the moment.
Growing up, I’d always hear adults say, “The minutes drag, but the years fly.” This never really hit me until the last few weeks of my senior year at Menlo, and although I think of myself as being present and “in the moment,” I wish I’d been more intentional about that sooner. Relish every moment of the grind of studying for a freshman physics exam. Put down your phone when you’re with your friends and focus on who’s in front of you. Experience and live every moment without trying to document it for your Snap story. It’s the moments and hours that we will remember with clarity as having been impactful and transformative—the years will just be a blur. Going to school in the heart of Silicon Valley, it’s easy to obsess about a perfect future and to focus on how your current actions will affect the next few years of
your life, rather than how they will affect the next minute or hour. What’s the hurry, and what are we racing toward? There is no better place to be in the moment than at Menlo, to take a break from history class to do yoga or talk sports with a math teacher or to try to land frisbees in the trash cans on the Quad. People say, “The future looks bright.” Well, I say the present looks pretty good, too.
3. Sample broadly from the “Menlo Buffet.”
Menlo is extraordinary in everything it has to offer, so take full advantage of the people, mentors, clubs, and athletic and musical programs available. It can be comfortable to stay in your lane,
but getting outside the lines is where you just might discover a real passion or a deep relationship. Nurture your existing friendships, but be open to friends in different grades with different interests. Embrace the initial discomfort (because it can be uncomfortable) in connecting with a teacher outside of class time. Get the extra help you need, and you’ll end up with another trusted adult in your life you can count on for advice and counseling. Explore different activities and electives that you may feel are outside your comfort zone. One of the very best things I did was dance in the Menlo Dance Concert my senior year, even though I was one of the few who had never taken a dance class. What I love most is Menlo’s warm and supportive community that made me feel safe and rewarded when I took a risk. And can any other school claim it has a Beekeeping Club or a Happiness Club?
Sincerely, Jack Gold