Friday, February 8, 2008
Shadowing Holden Essay
If you really want to hear about it, I'll tell you the whole, entire story. It all started one night with my dad arriving home from work and dumping a big, fat, phonebook-sized book on my desk, where I was contentedly finishing up some homework.
I looked up at the big sound and asked, "What is thattttt?" He said that, "if I was serious about getting into Punahou, I would have to study diligently." I hadn't thought about that. I just had sort of assumed I'd just show up for an interview and get in and all.
What actually did happen was that I studied, hard, almost every night. When I wasn't studying, I was picturing my "new life" that would begin once I attended Punahou. Punahou. Even the name sounded so… intelligent and respected! Getting into Punahou was the major goal of my life. I had told everyone I was applying, friends, teachers, and my coaches. The topic even came up during a doctor appointment.
"You know, Alyson," started the doctor. That killed me. My full name is Alyson. However, I prefer Aly. Actually, its not that I prefer Aly, it's more that I hate being called Alyson. For some reason I don't think of myself as Alyson. I think of 'Alyson' as a prim, proper, and depressing English lady. So, when the doctor began a talk by calling me Alyson, I instantly chose to disregard what she would say.
It continued. "It's not a big deal if you don't get accepted in to Punahou." Pause! Huh? Of course it was! But because I didn't exactly want to start a fight with the doctor, I nodded politely with a serene smile on my face. "My kids say that all of the Punahou kids are snooty." At this point, she had me a little big angry. What did she know? Her kids were wrong. It certainly was a dirty trick, saying that all Punahou kids were snooty because she thought I would need consoling. But of course I wouldn't; I was going to get into Punahou!
The doctor continued, "So if you don't get in, don't worry about it. Then you won't have to make the commute over the hill." That killed me more than when the silly lady called me Alyson. Someone didn't share my excitement?
"That's just so weird," I remember thinking. "Punahou is the best school on the island, hands down! There are no negatives!"
My excited apprehensiveness filled my thoughts until the day that I discovered three large envelopes in the mailbox. One was addressed to Bailey, my 3rd grade sister, one to my brother Jack in 6th grade, and one to me. And the best part was, the return addresses all read 'Punahou School.' After ripping it open, and reading the first line, I was officially accepted to the Punahou School, class of 2011. Woooo! I had reached my goal. I didn't officially accept the letter right then because I had also tried out for other schools, and my parents wanted to wait and see if I got into those schools also.
Later that week, while watching eight players prepare for a big tournament, one of my closest friends Monica and I were sitting on the steps, and she was trying to convince me that Punahou was not a good place.
"You know, you're going to have to wake up at like, 5:30 every morning to go to school!" she said.
"I know," I answered, "but the schedules there are super cool! I'll probably be able to get out at like, 12 or something every day!" I was getting a little bit impatient with this bash-Punahou talk.
"I know. But I can't believe you're ditching us next year!" Silly Monica.
"I'm sorrrrrrry! I'll still get to see you and all a lot." While I was talking, I noticed a little light switch behind me.
"I know. But not as much! Do you think you're really going to-" She was cut off as the court lights instantly turned off and blackness covered the two courts.
"OH MY GOD!" I whisper-yelled.
"What did you do!" she whisper-yelled back.
"I accidentally turned off the lights! I didn't realize what the switch would do!"
Monica didn’t respond because my dad was angrily storming over and asking what happened to the lights. The players were so angry at me, because the big tennis court lights take about ten to fifteen minutes to turn on. I blamed my major embarrassment on Punahou. If I hadn't gotten in, this wouldn't have happened!
Although I was angry at Punahou for distracting me and making me switch the lights, I still wanted to go there a tiny bit. Monica wasn't the only one telling me that Punahou might not have been such a great choice. Maybe they were jealous, or maybe they just didn't want to see me leave. Either way, all of a sudden I felt crushed and confused. What if they were right! What if I go to Punahou and regret it! I wasn't sure of what I wanted and all. Instead of logically deciding whether or not I would attend, I completely avoided the topic. I never talked about it with anyone. Whenever my parents tried to confront me about my choice in schools, I just would say that I'd decide later. This continued until two days before the acceptance letter was due. Then I realized that I had to make my decision, and I had to make it fast.
The night before we had to re send in the letter, my parents and I all sat down at the table and made a list of all of the pros and cons about Punahou.
"One good thing about going to LJA is that all of your friends live close to you!" My mom pointed out.
"Yes, but a lot of people from Punahou live near us anyway… So I don't think that's such a big deal," I responded.
"Are you sure your willing to make the commute every day?"
"Yes, Dad."
It went on and on and on, but finally, I decided to suck up my worries and go to Punahou after all. Once I put it all into perspective, I realized that I shouldn't let friend's tell me what I want and don't want. Going to Punahou was, like I expected, a really wonderful decision. I love it there and am so glad that I listened to what I wanted, and not someone else.
I looked up at the big sound and asked, "What is thattttt?" He said that, "if I was serious about getting into Punahou, I would have to study diligently." I hadn't thought about that. I just had sort of assumed I'd just show up for an interview and get in and all.
What actually did happen was that I studied, hard, almost every night. When I wasn't studying, I was picturing my "new life" that would begin once I attended Punahou. Punahou. Even the name sounded so… intelligent and respected! Getting into Punahou was the major goal of my life. I had told everyone I was applying, friends, teachers, and my coaches. The topic even came up during a doctor appointment.
"You know, Alyson," started the doctor. That killed me. My full name is Alyson. However, I prefer Aly. Actually, its not that I prefer Aly, it's more that I hate being called Alyson. For some reason I don't think of myself as Alyson. I think of 'Alyson' as a prim, proper, and depressing English lady. So, when the doctor began a talk by calling me Alyson, I instantly chose to disregard what she would say.
It continued. "It's not a big deal if you don't get accepted in to Punahou." Pause! Huh? Of course it was! But because I didn't exactly want to start a fight with the doctor, I nodded politely with a serene smile on my face. "My kids say that all of the Punahou kids are snooty." At this point, she had me a little big angry. What did she know? Her kids were wrong. It certainly was a dirty trick, saying that all Punahou kids were snooty because she thought I would need consoling. But of course I wouldn't; I was going to get into Punahou!
The doctor continued, "So if you don't get in, don't worry about it. Then you won't have to make the commute over the hill." That killed me more than when the silly lady called me Alyson. Someone didn't share my excitement?
"That's just so weird," I remember thinking. "Punahou is the best school on the island, hands down! There are no negatives!"
My excited apprehensiveness filled my thoughts until the day that I discovered three large envelopes in the mailbox. One was addressed to Bailey, my 3rd grade sister, one to my brother Jack in 6th grade, and one to me. And the best part was, the return addresses all read 'Punahou School.' After ripping it open, and reading the first line, I was officially accepted to the Punahou School, class of 2011. Woooo! I had reached my goal. I didn't officially accept the letter right then because I had also tried out for other schools, and my parents wanted to wait and see if I got into those schools also.
Later that week, while watching eight players prepare for a big tournament, one of my closest friends Monica and I were sitting on the steps, and she was trying to convince me that Punahou was not a good place.
"You know, you're going to have to wake up at like, 5:30 every morning to go to school!" she said.
"I know," I answered, "but the schedules there are super cool! I'll probably be able to get out at like, 12 or something every day!" I was getting a little bit impatient with this bash-Punahou talk.
"I know. But I can't believe you're ditching us next year!" Silly Monica.
"I'm sorrrrrrry! I'll still get to see you and all a lot." While I was talking, I noticed a little light switch behind me.
"I know. But not as much! Do you think you're really going to-" She was cut off as the court lights instantly turned off and blackness covered the two courts.
"OH MY GOD!" I whisper-yelled.
"What did you do!" she whisper-yelled back.
"I accidentally turned off the lights! I didn't realize what the switch would do!"
Monica didn’t respond because my dad was angrily storming over and asking what happened to the lights. The players were so angry at me, because the big tennis court lights take about ten to fifteen minutes to turn on. I blamed my major embarrassment on Punahou. If I hadn't gotten in, this wouldn't have happened!
Although I was angry at Punahou for distracting me and making me switch the lights, I still wanted to go there a tiny bit. Monica wasn't the only one telling me that Punahou might not have been such a great choice. Maybe they were jealous, or maybe they just didn't want to see me leave. Either way, all of a sudden I felt crushed and confused. What if they were right! What if I go to Punahou and regret it! I wasn't sure of what I wanted and all. Instead of logically deciding whether or not I would attend, I completely avoided the topic. I never talked about it with anyone. Whenever my parents tried to confront me about my choice in schools, I just would say that I'd decide later. This continued until two days before the acceptance letter was due. Then I realized that I had to make my decision, and I had to make it fast.
The night before we had to re send in the letter, my parents and I all sat down at the table and made a list of all of the pros and cons about Punahou.
"One good thing about going to LJA is that all of your friends live close to you!" My mom pointed out.
"Yes, but a lot of people from Punahou live near us anyway… So I don't think that's such a big deal," I responded.
"Are you sure your willing to make the commute every day?"
"Yes, Dad."
It went on and on and on, but finally, I decided to suck up my worries and go to Punahou after all. Once I put it all into perspective, I realized that I shouldn't let friend's tell me what I want and don't want. Going to Punahou was, like I expected, a really wonderful decision. I love it there and am so glad that I listened to what I wanted, and not someone else.
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