Exploring the Deep Blue

“I'm still a kid inside, and adventure is adventure wherever you find it.”

-Jim Dale

    After 14 hours on a plane, 8 hours in Turkey, 1 hour in Male, my Dad and I was almost at COMO Maalifushi Resort in the Thaa Atoll of the Maldives. I was in the same sweatpants and sweatshirt I been wearing for over 24 hours. I stepped off the sea plane and was confronted by the heat and humidity. I grabbed my luggage and jumped onto the boat. I had one last leg of the trip to go. We put our life jackets on and motored towards the resort. It was a quick boat ride. It was less than 5 minutes. Finally we arrived! We stepped off the boat and we were greeted by the staff who were super nice. But I just wanted to get in the water and start my adventure.

Enjoying My Last One as a Student

 “Every traveler has a home of his own, and he learns to appreciate it more from his wandering.”

-Charles Dickens 

    Alijah is sprinting down the sideline for the touchdown. He is at the 30, 20, 10, TOUCHDOWN!! The crowd is going wild! All the students sprint out onto the field to congratulate the team. It’s a perfect fall day for football and Homecoming. My grandparents were visiting for the weekend and we all were enjoying the special events. There were people everywhere dressed in blue and gold. The smell of hotdogs and burgers on the grill wafted down to the spectators on the field. It was fun but I was also there to volunteer and help staff the events.

 Stepping Up

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” 

-Harold S. Geneen

    Buck and I pushed off our team’s duct taped covered cardboard vessel covered from the starting line and into the water. It was a race around the first mooring and back to the beach. The boat had two pool noodles cut into six pieces on the bottom to keep it afloat. Almost immediately the boats were soaked, soggy and sinking. The captains, Tucker and Peter, were out of the boats and pulling them through the shallow water. The captains were neck and neck but Peter turned and went to the wrong beach so Tucker won. Our team was on the beach cheering like crazy when Tucker won. The experience of building and racing the cardboard boat as a team helped us learn that the secret to our big win was valuing the strengths that each member of the team brought to the activity. Throughout my time at Belknap, I realized that for our ninth grade year to be successful we had to lean on each other, step up as leaders and be good friends.

Building Community

“A true community is not just about being geographically close to someone or part of the same social web network. It's about feeling connected and responsible for what happens.”

- Yehuda Berg 

   I am sitting in my first All School Meeting (ASM) in a senior seat next to my best friends. The words flow out of my mouth like a stream of water “We all live in a yellow submarine (stomp) a yellow submarine (stomp) a yellow submarine (stomp).” At this point in my Fenn career the words are committed to memory and I do not have to refer to my song book. I sing the lyrics loud and clear while swaying to the beat with my friends. I love ASM because it brings the Fenn community together.

My Daily Sailing Routine

“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.”

- John F. Kennedy     

         The waves in Buzzards Bay are crashing over the bow, while water is dripping down my face I am yelling “get on the trap!” to my crew. I am holding on to the main sheet in my left hand and the tiller in my right hand. I glance up at the tell tails which indicate the wind direction and I make slight adjustments for the shift in wind direction. Our sails fill with wind and we surge passed the boat next to us. I feel the excitement of being in my first regatta in a 420. This was the time for me to put all of my hard work together to compete. Yet racing was only part of why I loved my summer sailing class.