At breakfast today, a friend of mine and I were discussing what’s commonly referred to as “the Butterfly Effect.”
This theory states that every action, no matter how small, has a significant impact on one’s life. While some may scoff at this seemingly exaggerated opinion, I do not. Who knows, you could be going to reach for a glass for some juice only to bump into that handsome boy in your Chemistry class as he’s coincidentally reaching for the same glass. You two could talk and end up getting lunch together.
In my life, so many drastic changes have been brought about by mere coincidence. Honestly, I wouldn’t even be at Andover had I not overheard a middle school classmate mentioning to another he was applying to boarding school. Later that night, I requested materials from about eight different schools. Eventually I applied to several. One of these was Andover.
Small instances of chance like these can redirect the trajectory of your life, for the better and for the worse.
Looking at your life and seeing what has skewed it can be hard, but is critical for ensuring that individuals live lives that they can be proud of. Difficult experiences can give you emotional scars, but with time these scars become a distinct detail of your personality. They shape the way you act by serving as reminders of lessons once learned. The deeper the cut, the stronger the lasting impact will be. This can be a good thing, as it forces lessons learned to actually stay learned forever. These old wounds become pivotal character-building lessons.
A glaring example of this type of lesson in my life is my experience at summer camp. When I was young, I attended a fairly competitive performing arts camp. Before actually arriving at the camp, I worked for months to perfect my audition for a part in the musical, “Grease.” I slaved over the choreography of my rendition of “Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee” and practiced the vocals for hours. Sadly, when it came time for me to actually put my hard work to the test, I struggled. My audition went poorly and I was relegated to the role of “Townperson 2/Santa’s 1st Elf” in “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I didn’t even earn a part in the right play, let alone the part that I actually wanted! Naturally, I was devastated.
In retrospect, though, my audition probably wasn’t deserving of a better role. And as it turned out, I enjoyed the time I spent with my new pack of friends way more than I would have had devoting all of my time to a lead role in “Grease.”
That camp experience taught me early on that being the best doesn’t matter as long as you’re happy with who you are.
I learned from my time at theatre camp that making the best out of hardships you encounter is necessary to develop your moral character. I could’ve sulked and gone home after being relegated to a minor role. Instead, I chose to stick it out and ended up making some fantastic friends. Curveballs and speedbumps will inevitably arise. The thing is, they always seem more terrible than they actually are. Gaining the ability to look at past grievances with an introspective mentality is what people need to view things for what they are: didactic lessons, rather than chances to wallow in self-pity.
So I challenge you to think of your own lives and reflect back on your Andover careers. Try and see the random exchanges and coincidences that have shaped your time here. Seniors, I’m sure you’re doing a lot of this as of late, and if not, I forecast a tsunami of nostalgia sometime in the next five months. Uppers, with the beginning of this college process, we’ll have to switch into an introspective gear when picking where to apply as well as when it comes time to write college applications.
How strange it seems, someone can meet his or her high school sweetheart while getting a glass of juice or have his or her life entirely changed just by overhearing a conversation before the bell rings in a middle school classroom. Life can seem like a bed of roses and, at times, one of thorns. But it’s this variety, this unpredictability that makes life so interesting. Every action, no matter how large or how small, has a tangible affect on our lives. So I implore you to remember that you never know what’s waiting for you on the horizon. When life gets tough, push through. That boy at the juice station could be just around the corner.
Veronica Harrington is a two-year Upper from Los Angeles, CA.