Ada Cohen ‘18

I am writing this letter to you all from Santa Fe, New Mexico which is about a 12-hour drive from Los Angeles, where I woke up this morning and where I’ve been attending school for the past 1 and a half years. I learned that I would be in New Mexico, driving myself and every belonging I own back to Alabama last night. It goes without saying that this is due to Coronavirus, and however horrific, scary, and unprecedented this phase of our lives is, it, strangely enough, coincides with the singular most important lesson I’ve learned since leaving Indian Springs School which is that life waits for no one. 

I used to associate BNSF railways with the opening advertisements that came before Downton Abbey as I sat with my family in our den on Sunday nights, but driving through the Southwest seeing those red, green, and yellow-colored train chugging beside the bright orange canyons of the desert gave them a new association for me. One of rapidity, necessity, even survival. I was thinking about the message I wanted to share with you all, pondering how best to explain the feeling that life waits for no one when all of a sudden I had the feeling that I was about to run into one of these massive trains. I wasn’t of course, it’s just that this particular BNSF train was going in the opposite direction as I and was parallel to the high way. The railroads are directly beside the highway which is directly beside the canyon which you drive on for hours until eventually, the desert gives way to the prairies which give way to the deciduous forest we have in back sweet home Alabama. 

I couldn’t help but think back to all those novels, such as Manifest Destiny, and movies, such as O Brother Where Art Thou, that I watched as a kid and the scenes where they jump onto trains hopping from car to car in hopes of reaching somewhere, anywhere, understanding that it doesn’t always matter where you are going just that you are going. I for one used to think the trains were going to slow down for me and I could comfortably and casually hop on. This is not the case. The trains run on their own time and you have to decide whether or not to make the leap of faith. Sometimes you will have friends to hop on the train with you and that is a wonderful feeling, as we all find comfort in the many. And sometimes your friends are already on the train and you must hop on alone, but when you do find them it is arguably the most rewarding feeling in the world. 

But now we are all home, old and young, for an unknown amount of time. And for the first time in a while, we might all slow down for a minute. 

Abigail Shepherd ‘19

I sincerely don’t know how to begin writing this.

While I’m honored that Virginia asked me to give some advice and insight into college, part of me doesn’t even know if I can. Is it possible to give ‘good’ advice without just coming off as incredibly vague? How do I articulate all of the newness of college in to a single paragraph? How do I unravel the “college experience” from the rest of my life, all intertwined, all bundled up in a chaotic mess… how do I broadly define ‘college’ when I have no point of reference but my own?

Here’s what I know.

College is tough.

Being challenged is challenging. And I’m not just talking about in the classroom. This is a huge transition both academically and socially, and it’s hard.

College is good.

Sometimes it’s type 1 good (fun because it’s hard), sometimes type 2 (fun), and sometimes it’s just good because you should eat your vegetables and get an education. You will meet some amazing people. You will learn some amazing things. Don’t give up just yet.

You don’t need college to be a replacement for the home you found at Springs. It won’t be. And that’s okay. You don’t need to replace the memories you had here or the friends you’ve made. You still have springs to call your home. In my first weeks at Dartmouth, I felt like time didn’t move linearly but circularly. I couldn’t push home out of my head.

I don’t think I will ever have the ‘cookie cutter’ college experience because I didn’t have the cookie cutter high school one. In the end, college wasn’t as exciting as I initially imagined—it was just another place to go. It took time to make this place, this conglomeration of grass and stress and dining hall coffee, somewhere that I could settle into. Somewhere I can be present.

Best of luck,

Abigail

Chloe Miller ‘18

As Virginia messaged me and asked me to write this, I was in Australia’s Brisbane airport, anxiously waiting to board a flight back to America so that I could see my family and friends for the first time in nine months. Armed with entirely too many cups of coffee and approximately thirteen hours to kill, I now sit somewhere above the Pacific Ocean in a plane large enough to fit the entire student body of Indian Springs School; I’m here to give you guys some insight on college, the southern hemisphere, and kindness.  

I’ve found that everyone has their own path in life. There’s no specific timeline you need; what matters most is the way you treat yourself and other people. It’s so easy to get down on yourself during these stressful times before college, but please understand that it’s your life. Listen to what brings you pure happiness, and chase it with all you’ve got. It truly does not matter what other people think. With that, spread your joy to other people through kindness. Life isn’t perfect, and I know that what’s saved me was the kindness I was shown when I didn’t deserve it. (Shoutout to Mr. Woodruff for not failing me in second semester English my senior year when I did not turn a single paper in on time) 

Be bold. Be kind. Listen to what your heart tells you, wherever it may lead (even nine months in New Zealand). 

Trenton Williams ‘19

I was approached with the idea of writing a piece for the Woodward post on post ISS graduate life by Virginia on the night of my 19th birthday, during my university’s spring break, while she could barely open her mouth to speak due to a tonsil surgery, and honestly I can’t think of a better way this piece could have originated. Despite the events that would later occur due to that tonsil surgery, the circumstances surrounding her proposal eerily mirrored and reminded me of where my life currently rests, somewhere deep within the realms of confusing, chaotic, celebratory, and yet very familiar.  

So here we go, we’re going to do this in list form because: 1. I like lists 2. For those who don’t want to read you can skip to the list and 3. Because its dIfFeReNt. Anyway, the list starts now, 

Trenton’s List of Advice to an ISS Graduate 

1. Not everything is going to be perfect in college and that’s ok 

2. DO NOT stress if you didn’t get accepted to your first choice of Yale or Harvard 

3. Things and people around you that you thought you knew will change quickly and this is a part of your new life 

4. In the long run, the degree is what matters for a career, not the school 

5. Go to Class! 

6. Step out of your comfort zone as thats what college is all about 

7. Keep in touch with those who matter. Call mom, call your friends, be there for those who were there for you 

8. Don’t forget where you’re from 

9. It is ok to cry, everyone does it 

10. Be yourself 

Ok well that’s it. The list is done. I was going to relate this all back to Virginia’s tonsil surgery and how it was a metaphor for the chaos and pain but also improvement and recovery of the first year post high school graduate life but I feel like I’ve written too much and I’m not sure how I could have done that so, this is the last sentence. 

Kelly Parker ‘16

Today is Friday, March 13th and I am about to leave my college town forever thanks to a global pandemic that I have no control over. It will affect my friendships, my graduation, and my future. 

When I graduated from Springs I was ready to explore the world. My motto from day one is that the world is too small to stay in one place too long. I really took that to heart and traveled eight hours away from home to Fayetteville, AR. At the end of the day all that matters is what you make of your experience. I could have had college on the moon, but the important part is how I grow as an individual. College is a time for self-expansion, and I promise you will make the most of any situation that presents itself to you. 

If I could give any advice to my 18 year old self, I would tell her that not everything she believes is true. Expect to challenge your beliefs and discover new things about yourself that you may have never known. Be true to who you are unapologetically and find an environment to thrive. 

I was lucky enough to know what major I wanted to pursue from a young age. I remember the moment I told my brother that I planned to study psychology and he told me not to study that because everyone is interested in psychology. I remember rethinking what I wanted and wondered if I should change my major. My parents wanted me to stay closer to home and go to Auburn. I did a ton of introspection during this challenging time and I remember thinking, “Kelly, trust your gut. You know what’s best for you.” I am so glad I did. 

I am getting ready to pack up my apartment two months earlier and leave my college town in the dust. I am sad. I feel like the last two months of college were ripped away from me. This experience has taught me that life is so transient, so enjoy what you have while you have it.

Joseph Copeland ‘17

College is full of highs and lows, confusion, and mayhem. At times the independence can be overwhelming, but at the same time it offers immeasurable reward. The best advice I can give to anyone planning on spending the next four years far from home at a stressful college is to keep a level head. Listen closely to everyone around you, but remember it’s fine to cut out the white noise when you need to. Your interests will undoubtedly change; find time to listen to yourself and no one else. As my third year ends, I can comfortably say college is not what I expected it to be, and that’s great. I’ve grown and pushed through much more than I could’ve imagined. Three years have felt long, but so quick. You often hear mantras expressing that learning extends far

beyond the classroom, that could not be more true in college. Make sure you don’t compare your high school experience to your time in college. Plan for the future; don’t spend too much time planning. It’ll be a wonderful time as long as you keep an open mind and don’t get complacent with respect to your success and failure.