11 days can change a lot. Throughout Marblehead High School’s winter vacation, students understood the potential of 11 days. In this week and a half, many were accepted into college, traveled the world, or simply caught up on sleep. Yet while most people’s personal lives shifted to some extent, this change has yet to affect the students’ collective conscious.
On the day after vacation, many boasted new items: gifts from the holidays they celebrated. Beneath this shiny exterior though, students still felt discontent. Walking into the building on the first day back, there was one common sentiment; vacation never happened. Instead, people stayed inside the building and simply dreamt the experiences of the past 11 days. Of course, this was not the case. But while 11 days can feel endless at the beginning, this time flies by quickly, and few had something to show for it. There were some with elaborate tales from their vacation: trips to exotic locations or exciting memories made with friends. For most of us however, vacation was uneventful and ultimately unsatisfying. Sure, most of us connected with our families or read that book we’d always wanted to read. Yet somehow these stories mean nothing when countered with the heavy weight of school. After all, even though many students enjoy school, it’s hard to return to something when it feels like you never left.
New Year’s was an opportunity to change things. A promising resolution can invite a year’s worth of opportunity into someone’s life, allowing him or her to approach school, or any responsibility, with a fresh mindset. No matter potential resolutions though, student culture appears the same: expectant. Students are constantly waiting for something, whether it be lunchtime, the end of the school day, or the point at which they can go to bed. In most classes, people pack up five minutes before the bell, even though the next block features a dreaded geometry test. At the end of lunch, many will even leave as early as ten minutes before the bell just to stand outside of their next class. This cycle continues as students count down to larger milestones: vacation, summertime, graduation. It is as if we expect something magical to occur once these points are reached. When nothing does, we immediately focus on the next opportunity. This expectant feeling is not unique to MHS. Throughout December, countless young adults used Twitter to express their readiness for 2018 to end and 2019 to take its place. When a year is tainted with negative experiences, it’s clear why many are ready to move on. Yet when January first arrived, many were quick to joke that they had already ruined 2019 and were looking forward to the fresh start of 2020.
Unfortunately, New Year’s is just another day. Positive change does not inherently come with this date. If people truly seek transformation, they must actively pursue it. The same can be said for vacation at Marblehead High School. While the date of this article’s publication may be January 10, the culture of MHS can still undergo its own transformation. We can resolve to wait for the bell to dismiss us at lunchtime, or to cherish the last few years with our peers before graduation.
It’s easy to feel like we are entitled to change during the 11 days of vacation. No matter this time though, we will always be the same students: tired yet motivated, indecisive but passionate. Despite this standard, we can continue to improve, and above all else, persist. After all, it’s a feat within itself to make it through the first week back from vacation, and we’ve already done that. Just imagine what we can do next.