My Darlington Story: The People Make the Place

Hello, my name is Wesley. I am a senior at Darlington. I have been here since the 4th grade and I can definitely say that high school has been the best experience of my life. 

Not to reiterate what anyone else might say, but Darlington, DarWorld as I call it, is definitely my home away from home. Coming from a public school with the cinderblock walls and long straight halls, the asymmetry of the buildings is one thing that I love. I can remember the first time I set foot on the Upper School campus. Looking around, the first thing I noticed, however, was the diversity. 

My freshman year I became close friends with a girl from Bulgaria. From the time that we met, we learned so much about each other’s culture. I remember when we would order pizza on a Friday night and eat it in the math hall below Summerbell and just talk about weird European musicians and life with our friend from Spain. 

Darlington allows each of its students the unique opportunity to become immersed in the culture of their peers. My Chinese friend, who graduated last year, invited me to Starbucks and introduced me to my new favorite drink, a green tea frappuccino. She told me that it was a part of the secret menu and that it was very popular in China. One of my most interesting experiences occurred when a Korean girl sat me down at lunch one day and asked me why Americans were so liberal and crazy. The conversation evolved into a discussion of the differences between having a relationship in Asia versus one in the USA. 

Needless to say, I have learned a lot from my peers here at Darlington. The different nationalities should not just be a cool statistic listed in a pamphlet. They each should be a resource from which you can learn more about the world. I think it is pivotal to experience each of the different cultures here at school because it gives us a snapshot of the world and how it works together, just on a smaller scale.