10 Things I've Learned at Darlington: Adrianna
By Adrianna Williams-Young '16 - '16
Since coming to Darlington School, I've learned a variety of things, from how to write geometric proofs to conjugating French verbs. Some of the most important lessons in life, though, are often not found inside the classroom, but are learned by simply existing with the people around you. Living and existing with the other students and faculty here has left me with some lessons I’ll be sure to carry with me for a long time.
1) You are going to fail. You are going to fail, and mess up, and maybe even cry about it, and that’s perfectly okay. No one that you meet in life is flawless (unless that person is Beyoncé), and no one expects you to be flawless either. So take your failures in stride. Learn from them and move on.
2) Living with other people is hard, but it is in everyone’s best interest if you’re cooperative. When you get to college, chances are you’re going to dislike one of your roommates, or that annoying girl down the hall might play her music way too loud at 2 a.m. (chances are that girl will be me). If you just try to get along and not make your contempt blaringly obvious, then life will be easier for everyone involved. That doesn’t mean be a pushover, but don’t go out of your way to be rude or vengeful to the people you’re living with.
3) Time management is key. Honestly, if there’s one thing you want to learn in high school, it’s this. I myself am still mastering the illusive art of “time management,” but before my attendance at this school, I’d never truly recognized the importance of budgeting my time.
4) You don’t have to be friends with your friends’ friends. I promise that’s not as confusing as it sounds. Don’t feel bad if the guy your best friend hangs out with at lunch doesn’t like you, and don’t expect that same best friend to like the girl you run track with. There’s no rule that says you can only exist in one friend group and that everyone has to get along. Accept that you won’t always like your friend’s friends, and they won’t always like yours.
5) Appreciate home while you can. This lesson may not apply to everyone, but for me, it was a big one. When I left home to come live here in the dorms, I knew I would miss it, but I didn’t realize just how much. It’s the little things, like being able to sit in the field across the road. It’s going a month and a half without seeing your dog, and it’s missing out on the yearly county fair. Appreciate the little things about being home while you can, because those are things that will turn your stomach in knots when you’re feeling homesick.
6) Wool-lined leggings are a girl’s best friend. For someone who refused to wear a dress anywhere but church until around the 7th grade, making the transition to wearing a skirt everyday was a strange one, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t think the girls here were crazy for still wearing them in the winter. Being from Alabama, I am pathetic when it comes to the cold, as in, anything less than 65 degrees is too cold for life. The discovery of wool-lined leggings was so life changing for me that it definitely deserves to be in my top 10 things learned here.
7) Be nice to underclassmen. Seriously, they appreciate it more than you can imagine. Most people can recall being a freshman or sophomore and the feelings of anxiety that came with it, yet it seems that once they’re the upperclassmen, suddenly it’s okay to become the older kids they’d feared just a year or two before. Yes, as an upperclassman, you are entitled to a few more privileges than the younger kids, but don’t overlook people just because they’re younger than you are. Some of my favorite people at Darlington this year are freshmen, and while I tease them about being “freshies,” I love them just like I love the friends in my grade. The kindness of upperclassmen my first year here made the transition into this school so much easier, and everyone should strive to be like the mentors they were to me.
8) Have a free period. Have a free period. Just in case you didn’t get what I was saying, have a period that is free, no subject, no teacher, no class. This is a harsh lesson that I’m learning this year as I struggle to get my work done every night. There’s nothing lazy about having a free period. Just trust me when I say that 6 subjects is more than enough, and that extra AP class isn’t going to make or break your college acceptance. Have a free period because you will need that time to get ahead on homework, finish homework from the night before, study for a test the next class, and for those days when you’re barely pushing through, a nap.
9) Don’t be afraid to try new things. I personally have this problem of not wanting to start new things because I won’t be good at them. I’ve always thought that there’s no way I could compare to the people who have been doing it for years, and I get discouraged when I’m not great my first try. In the last three years here, I’ve learned, so what? So what if you’re not as good? Of course you won’t be; you’re a beginner, and you’re not supposed to be good. Freshman year I ran track for the first time, and no, I wasn’t the best, but I felt good about it. I even tried pole vaulting, which I failed miserably at, but just learning how to do it and getting over that first rung was so satisfying. I even discovered a love for the arts I’d never realized I had before after participating in the winter musical.
10) Go out and do. Don't spend all your time in your room or at home; go out and enjoy yourself. Go to the park with your friends, walk Broad Street for no good reason, just get out and do something. You will be a happier person with some human interaction and sunshine. You don’t need to spend every night out, but once or twice a week is healthy and it’ll help keep you from getting in a slump.
