To the class of 2014, Although I’ve only been back at Andover for a couple of days, I can already tell who you are. You are the Junior class, identifiable by your over-eager faces raw with nervousness and excitement. I can spot you by the blue lanyards you wear around your necks and the way you show up early to commons while everyone else is trying to squeeze in the last few hours of sleep. To keep it fair, I’ll even give you one defining characteristic to help you identify us upperclassman. We are the ones that are so, to state it frankly, “over it”. We are the ones with blasé bored expressions, who complain about Commons food, and the ones that don’t look forward to their first day of classes. Don’t get us wrong, we love Andover and seeing all our friends again, but things like making a trip to town, getting our heavy textbooks, and exploring buildings just don’t excite us like they used to. As I walked back from town with my friends, I began to think, we go to arguably the best school in the nation that has more activities and resources that we could every possibly hope to absorb. We have amazing teachers, a beautiful campus and an environment of diverse and motivated people. Yet, we still complain about how our two-story ‘cafeteria’ has nothing to eat, and how those stairs in Gelb are too far to climb each day. Where, in the middle of these 500 acres, did the spell wear off for us? These are the thoughts I am pondering as I write this letter of advice to you, the class of 2014. During the duration of the school year, you will face the excitement of your first dance at Andover, (super early) invitations to Sadie, and Andover/Exeter. You will face the challenge of balancing every component of your life, the frigid coldness of Andover winter, and trying to get lucky in the house lottery so you don’t get a dorm that’s closer to the post office than the mail room. In the midst of all these events, you will find yourself dreading ASM, rejoicing for the few days we get to sleep in, feeling completely miserable and numb when walking from Graves to Gelb in the snow, and counting the days during spring term on your calendar until summer break. Now, what’s my advice to you? Stay a freshman as long as you can. Try new things, anticipate everything with giddiness, and don’t take anything for granted. Accumulate hoards of people in commons, gossip about the upperclassman, and experience everything Andover has to offer. Make new goals constantly so that when the spell finally does wear off, you can have new activities and classes to absorb and excite you. Freshman year, although sometimes challenging, was truly a great and unforgettable year. So now, as you go forth on your new journey, be brave and daring. Forge your own path and leave a trail. Even if you do happen to make a fool out of yourself, at least you can grin up and proudly say, “I’m a freshman”, and that will be all the explanation in the world. A freshman at heart forever and always, Christiana Nguyen Christiana Nguyen is a two-year Lower from Vancouver, WA.
