Unique, Personal, Formative

Every now and then, it's important to stop for a moment, take a breath, and think. For me, right now is one of those moments. Between the midterm exams, lengthy papers, and stacks of novels that are accumulating during this hectic time of year, it can be easy to become lost in the stress. In this moment, however, I realize how fortunate I am to be able to spend my time with my nose stuck in novels and to fill paper after paper with my thoughts. I get to spend every day at a school that I love, studying what I love, but I didn't get here alone. 
Without my years at EGHS, I cannot confidently say that I would have followed this same path. EGHS is the type of school that pushes and challenges its students, while simultaneously supporting and guiding them. The piles of work and hours of studying that I put into those classes is what prepared me for a college workload, and, quite honestly, the transition was practically seamless. While I overheard many of my friends here complaining that they'd never had so much work or been under so much stress, I felt at ease, and I have EGHS to thank for that. 
Yet, despite the rigorous classes that led me to achieving my academic goals, there's much more to my EGHS experience than that. Really, I have my favorite teachers to thank for helping me reach my personal goals, which is arguably far more important. Whether it was inside or outside of the classroom, I felt as though I had a strong web of teachers that I could visit and talk to, whether it be about a problem or just a casual chat. I had teachers who challenged me personally on more than an academic basis, and I had teachers who guided me in forming my future goals. It truly felt to me that teaching was more than just a transaction of information from teacher to student - it was a personal connection, and I am sure that no two students had an identical experience. I had teachers who made classes fun, challenging, creative, serious, and everything in between. 
No two of my relationships with my teachers were the same, and that's my favorite part of my experience. Now, in lectures with hundreds of students, or even in classes of twenty, it can be easy to be lost in a mob of faces, but I never felt that way at EGHS. I had teachers that I could joke around with, talk about our weekends, go to for any sort of help, or for any other reason I could think of. I had teachers that I felt truly cared about me and understood me on a level past being simply another student, and I even have teachers that I continue to communicate with now. The experience at EGHS is a unique, personal, formative one, and without it, I am not sure that I would be at a school that I love today, and for that, I have the teachers to thank. 

Monica Brennan
​EGHS Class of 2015