The Joy Of A Special Place

Lake Kolelemook

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter

-Nicholas Chamfort

    A place is truly special when you smile every time you arrive there. When my car pulls into the New Hampshire house driveway I feel as if I am dropping all my stress off at the end of the road. At the New Hampshire house in Springfield, NH I feel freedom. I feel as if I can do whatever I want, I could be paddle boarding on the lake, or even hanging out with my family having a good time inside.

     I was out in the middle of Lake Kolelemook in Springfield, New Hampshire, I tried my best to gain my balance on the paddle board, but my three cousins tipped me right off into the water. Everyone around the lake could probably hear the echo of laughter, or even screaming during the epic battle of paddle board wars.

    The essence of paddle board wars with my cousins is not just about tossing each other off a paddle board and climbing back on, it is really about the freedom and the fun that I get to have out on the lake. When I am out there I feel relieved of stress. All my worries about school and other things go away. Instead of thinking about mathematics or biology, I think about the best way to tip my cousins off a paddle board. It just feels as if I am in a different world, a world of fun.

    It is through times like these that I become relieved of all my worries about the future, and start focusing about the fun of the present.

Freewrite about my day at Belmont Hill

A Saturday spent watching sports with a friend

    Friday night, September 27th, I sat in my basement exercising my thumbs on some Fortnite thinking about what my day would be like on Saturday. On Saturday Belmont Hill was having their homecoming, I thought that this would be pretty fun, So I decided to go. At homecoming there were fun things to do: The varsity soccer team had a game against Tabor, the varsity football team had a game against Roxbury Latin, and there would be food and fun activities to do. This did sound like a fun thing to do on Saturday, but I knew that there was one thing that would make this better: bringing a friend. 

I arrived at Belmont hill a little after 12, I took a good look around and thought: this might as well be the lamest homecoming ever, there is barely anyone here and nothing to do yet. I wandered inside and realized that there actually were people here. Inside there was mini golf, and some bouncy houses; neither of which I ended up doing. Fast forward to 1:15, much more people had started arriving and the varsity soccer game just started. The soccer games are always very interesting and fun to watch, but a lot of my attention kept getting dragged to the parking lot, each time I glanced over I hoped to see my friend walking towards me. That is when the real fun would begin. Sometime around 1:45, my friend Parker and I would have been up in a balcony. Switching between watching the soccer game and the football game while munching on some food. The soccer game came to an end, Belmont Hill had won the game, and now we watched football. The rest of our time at Belmont Hill was spent walking around, watching football, and eating food. All of those things I enjoyed. Although my descriptions did not make it seem like Homecoming was very fun, I had a great time with Parker, laughing and watching sports. 

I am glad to have gone to see the games and spend some time with my friend, It was worth it. Spending time with people you like to be around, and doing things you like to do is always worth it.

Sam Dean

Fitz English

Belknap Essay

9/20/19

Camp Belknap

Lessons from a class camping trip 

Nature is not a place to visit; it is home.
~Gary Snyder

My classmates and I are stationed almost everywhere along the Camp Belknap waterfront, on Lake Winnipesauke. Jack Moskow was designated to the diving board, Tom Murdough was on the high platform, Jack Bretl was on another diving board, and  Hayden, Will and I were on the dock. I was at the basketball hoop anxiously waiting for the basketball to come to me so I can complete the trick shot. Jack Moskow leaped off the diving board and threw a basketball up to Tom Murdough on the high dive.  Tom jumped off, caught the ball and threw it to Jack Bretl. Bretl attempted to get the ball to Hayden who stood on the dock. The ball fell into the water; all of us had a face of disappointment. Through these fun times on our 9th grade trip I discovered how nature makes me feel free; I realized that I should continue making new friends, and I learned how to be a better leader.

    Everybody needs a friend,and as a part of a small ninth grade class of twenty three students, a trip to Camp Belknap gave me time to spend with all of my classmates; moreover, I strengthened friendships with classmates I never knew could be my friends. The cabins were randomized, so there was no guarantee that I was with my friends. In my cabin, Cabin 5, was: Kimball, Bobby, Harrison, Daniel, Will, Garret, and Jack. I was lucky to have some of my good friends in the cabin, but I was also lucky to have had some people I did no really know well. Being in a cabin together meant spending a lot of time together. Over this time I got to know Garrett, Harrison, Bobby, and Daniel a little better because I have never really been good friends with them. Whether I was spending time with Garrett and Harrison talking in the cabin or racing Bobby on a paddle board, I had great experiences making new friends.

    No one is born a leader, but being a ninth grader at Fenn means I will have to become a leader. We are the role models for the school; this comes with responsibility.  During my time at Belknap I got to think about how I want to be remembered at Fenn, and also supposedly what type of leader I am. We did an activity where there were two ropes lined up perpendicular to each other, Mr. Erwin then said that each end of the horizontal rope represents either wind or water. He read a description of what it meant to be wind and what it meant to be water and then we would line up along the line depending on where we thought we would go. I was on the wind side I believe. Then he read descriptions of what each end of the vertical line meant. Either you were a hot tamale, a cool cucumber, or somewhere in between. I was a cool cucumber. Whichever quadrant of the two lines you were in meant what type of leader you are. Apparently I am a driver meaning I take action and come to decisions. It means I am a big leader and am quick to step up to the role. One of my goals is to be a driver for the school and stand out as a leader, maybe this year will be my year.

    Nature makes me feel free,  I really did enjoy my time out camping with friends. I think it was great to be away from electronics, and to take a break from the real world. Even though jumping off the high platform into the water made my heartbeat go crazy, it was very peaceful. Soaking in the sounds of nature is magical. I remember laying down on my bunk late at night, listening to the crickets and other animals, thinking to myself how peaceful nature really is. It gave me a sense of freedom which is very special, and almost one of a kind; the freedom of nature.

    Leadership, friendship, and the freedom of nature are lessons I have learned during my time at Belknap. Leadership; every group needs a leader, leaders help us learn, and grow. Friendship; everyone needs a friend, friends give us laughter and are always around for a good time. Nature; getting away from electronics and outside every once and a while is truly special. Nature is a form of freedom. In my opinion, the most peaceful form. 

Sometimes all we need is a small getaway to learn important lessons in life.

The Essence Of Community, Place, And Stewardship

The Fenn Community, My Second Home

Community is about doing something together that makes belonging matter

-Brian Solis

   Everyone has a place where they feel happy and welcome, one of those places for me is Fenn. Even when I am having a bad day, getting accused of gaming, or wearing a hat inside, I still feel happy at the Fenn community which I love.

    Community is not just a group of people in the same area, community is a feeling. It is the feeling you get when you go to a place and it still feels like home. Fenn is a community which I am glad to be a part of. I am surrounded by people I like, and even if there are some people I do not know well, I still consider them a part of this community.  A community can be whatever you want it to be. It could just be a neighborhood or a camp. It’s not just people living in the same place, or working in the same area. It can also be a fellowship,  like a group of friends.  One of my favorite communities to be a part of was Camp Coniston. I got to make so many friends over the 5 years I was there, and it was a special community for me, and for my family.

    It is amazing how much impact a place can have on people. A place can bring back memories, happy or sad. Places bring back a lot of nostalgia. One of my favorite places to go is to my lake house in New Hampshire. When I am there I feel like I have a lot of freedom, I love when I can paddle board out on the lake whenever I want. There can be places that we get so used to going there and it is so special that it feels like we haven’t even left home. That is the power of a place. I remember Fitz talking to us in class about every time he drives up the hill to Windsor, he feels a sort of happiness. That this is relatable for many people, including me at New Hampshire and Coniston.

    Stewardship is very valuable. Without someone to lead a group, those learning our being lead would be wandering around clueless. If there was a classroom and the class had no teacher, the class would not be able to just teach themselves all of the material. They would need stewardship. Stewardship is what helps guide people to learn and understand things better. People my age are being taught most of the things we know by people of older generations. Those teaching us had to learn from somewhere, which they probably did from their teachers or parents. Without knowledge being passed down to us, and without having a steward to guide us, we would have to learn everything by doing.