Ms. O’Reilly: As we continue to work online in virtual schooling, our older students have found varied ways to participate in their Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) programme. Over previous weeks you have seen sections of this ranging from our student-led CCA’s to our Service Learning programme with aspects of their recent magazine.
Below is a piece written by a DP-2 student. As part of the “Creativity” strand of CAS, she has created her own blog. She has also written articles for various online forums that lend their voices towards youth empowerment.
Shreya (DP-2): “I wrote this piece just before my 17th birthday as a creative “think-piece” to ruminate on this milestone. 17 is considered an important age, as it’s a precursor to adulthood and college, which is why it’s almost daunting. Writing this poetic reflection was a way to remind myself, and others, that it’s not the culmination of everything that is fun, but rather a start to more holistic experiences in life.”
about 17
they tell me 17 smells like the scent of paper when you open a college acceptance, of ink drying in long notes scribbled for finals, and that school will eventually close in on you, that even if your teachers are overbearing or your peers are rude, you’re still lucky to have a place for graduation. they tell you that your immaturity will wash away with that impulsive hair dye, that maybe you will be valedictorian or maybe you won’t; but you’ll still try your hardest to make your parents proud. they tell you to cherish the last fleeting months with your best friend because the next time you see each other will be at weddings and reunions.
instead, it smells of the chocolate cookie I ate at midnight, or the chlorine as we emerge from a surprisingly competitive water polo game. true, it smells like university applications, but also the whiff of new adventures — it’s not going to be easy, but we will make it fun regardless. we’ll get tired, sad, beat down by homework and finals. we’ll come home with headaches that make us want to sob. but getting older doesn’t have to mean growing up. we can still go karaoke 10 years in the future, play hopscotch at weddings, and tag at reunions. we can still go to Disney World and dress like a princess, even if we’re 30 and playing hooky from work.
so even if they say that 17 is the precursor to adulthood, I think it’s okay. it’s okay to get older
Student Creativity: Ms. Jodi O’Reilly and Shreya (DP-2)
