GDS is a blessing. Being inside the GDS bubble can make it hard to appreciate how powerful a GDS education is. However, as a graduating senior who is about to step out of this bubble, I am beginning to realize how lucky I am.
When I joined the GDS community in ninth grade, I immediately recognized how special a community this is — despite starting the year over Zoom. I was taken aback by all the quick, late-night email responses from my teachers, and there was a palpable energy that crossed my computer screen during musical performances and other assemblies. From my room, I didn’t feel isolated because, despite being on a screen, I still saw students laugh joyfully, engaged in the club fair, and heard Russell’s “COVID-19 Blues.”
Yet, over time, as I grew into a sophomore, my focus shifted toward memorizing class and learning just to get work done with. I came to see unique GDS traditions and community events as excessive rather than essential parts of my education. I preferred free time to study rather than cheering on GDS sports teams or going to acting productions. I saw my peers and friends from other schools emphasizing exam results and college preparation, which limited my GDS experience. Regretfully, I didn’t really seek out activities like Eco Market day, the Passover assembly or clubs and affinity groups. I felt uncomfortable letting myself loose in the community because I was misled by a simplified notion that GDS was meant for learning math, sciences, how to write and preparing for college.
As I entered my junior year, my concern for my classes intensified. I felt a dark emptiness for most of the year — as opposed to the vibrant, colorful powders released at the Holi assembly, which I attended with a distracted mind. Looking back on my time at GDS, I think the fact that junior year was proclaimed as the most important year for college only worsened my ability to find joy in the GDS community. I faced the brain-numbing effects of focusing on grades, and ironically my academic performance declined. Also, I feared embarrassment and failure, so I often didn’t show up to club meetings even with all the advertising clubs did. I thought in terms of my upcoming major assessments, which caused me to miss Student Voices meetings and ultimate frisbee club matches because I feared I didn’t have time to spare for fun and games.
Fast forward to senior year. I am a changed person. I have been able to open up to my classmates more; I have allowed myself to have fun, silly moments; I have enjoyed attending Winter One-Acts, track meets and the Social Justice Teach-In Day because I realize how empowering these opportunities are. Through these experiences, I can learn about cultures and engage in new ways of thinking which is a privilege that most high schoolers across the nation don’t get to have. They make me feel good but also give me an expanded sense of the world around me.
I challenge all non-seniors to reset their gratitude meter each morning. Get rid of the notion that having so many supportive teachers and curious, humorous classmates is normal for a high school community: it is not! I promise you will not be able to count times your teachers joke around with you in the hallway and peers tell you about an interest you never knew they had on two hands because they are unbelievably common. The intimacy among people at GDS gives the rigorous learning you signed up for life and meaning.
My whole-hearted advice to any non-seniors is to fully buy into the GDS community. Don’t let any outside constructs like college or other friends’ perspectives on education influence how you spend your time at GDS. GDS is for you and your future self, not anyone else. Most importantly, take a minute to think about what’s in front of you — whether that be on a camping Minimester, a conversation about the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict or visiting Texas with the gun-debate track of the Policy Institute. Let GDS take you amazing places.