If I were to describe my four years at Arcadia High School (AHS) in a single word, it wouldn’t be an adjective, rather instead, something resemblant of an excursion. As someone with family all over the world and who has moved several houses and states, exploring new locations isn’t unfamiliar to me, but it’s never something I can be completely prepared for.
When I entered 9th grade at AHS, I felt like a tourist in a foreign country—going from 200 students total at my private K-8 school to 3000 students was quite the change. Of course, with any new travel excursion come a couple lost directions: wandering aimlessly in the school library on registration day and entering the wrong Biology Honors classroom on the first day of school. Passing periods felt like traffic jams, and bathroom lines resembled Disneyland’s. Reflecting on those days feels almost comical, as navigating our vast campus feels like second nature to me now.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a single pathway to achieve the best experience in high school, but there are certainly souvenirs that resemble some of the most memorable places I visited, moments I’ve endured, and people I met on my journey.
- Threads
For my junior and senior year, there were definitely moments where I spent more time at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) than my own home. The thread symbolizes three main things: the days of adversity as a Costume Lead where I felt like I was “hanging by a thread”; the costumes I spent sleepless nights designing and altering for school productions and DTASC; but most importantly, the threads represent the tight connection I made with the strangers-turned-best friends I dedicated all those hours with. Threads have two sides indistinguishable from each other, which is what I took away from my experience in Stagecraft: whether the days, shows, or presentations were good or bad, in the end, they formed into a singular line to establish the person I am today.
- Matcha Lattes
On the topic of sleepless nights, caffeine proved to be a vital source of energy when times required constant spirit. As someone with a terribly low caffeine tolerance, matcha lattes became my best friend. The rich, earthy, green tea powder combined with sweet syrups and oat milk kept me up through long days of studying and sewing. “Matcha runs” were the center of many valuable friendships I was able to make through bonding from shared love of this well-loved drink.
- Zucchini Bread
One of my favorite classes I took in high school was AP Environmental Science (APES), where we got the opportunity to grow our own vegetable garden and make delectable dishes with our fresh produce. In the beginning of our garden journey, we faced some unusual turbulence: larvae made a crash landing in the dirt of our plot! When we were finally able to get rid of these pests, one of our first successful crops were zucchinis, which we made zucchini bread with. As silly as it may sound, this cucumber look-a-like vegetable symbolized something deeper to me: setbacks aren’t set in stone—you can only grow from what you’ve lost. Your future outcomes are built from these failures, like the bits of green in a sweet zucchini bread, so there’s no value in dwelling on the past.
Zipping up my suitcase of souvenirs, I prepare to pack, both figuratively and literally, for my upcoming expedition in college where I will again have to navigate a different world than I’m used to. Instead, I have dormitories for hotels and orientation leaders for tour guides. While I don’t know what it’s in store for me yet, I know that life isn’t a one-way flight.
