The Depot #3
By OLAYENI OLADIPO ‘19
Hey, Team! Welcome to ‘The Depot,’ a storage facility for the topics of our time: the victories and defeats, the reliefs and worries, and the behaviors and mindsets in the space of Milton Academy. Now, Reader, I have a question for you. Are we scary? When I say we, I mean the Class of 2019, your senior class. I ask this question because, as the school year has begun, I’ve been reflecting on my grade’s time at Milton and how we want to carry ourselves this school year as #seenyas.
First, let me give you some context. I’d like to say that the common consensus is that the seniors during my freshman year were daunting. Not only did the majority of boys in that class look like middle-aged men, but almost everyone in that grade had eyes that could pierce through your soul. Let me also add that the railing boys were at an all time high in participation rates. Maybe through the eyes of a freshman, these characteristics were more noticeable, for I saw them in people who towered at the top of Milton’s social ladder. Still, the Class of 2016 was something: messy, yet powerful; crazy, yet collected; intimidating, yet inspiring.
The seniors during my sophomore year? Less frightening. I’d known them for a year, so our daily interactions displayed camaraderie. Nevertheless, I always walked on my tiptoes around the more assertive students of that class. I’d seen a few too many calling outs, clapbacks, and live stream exposés to risk mouthing off in front of the wrong people. Overall, the Class of 2017 ranked just slightly below their preceding class on the intimidation scale.
And lastly remains the seniors during my junior year. Probably the least terrifying of all classes at Milton. Sure, my view is tainted by my being one year younger than those in the Class of 2018. However, “intimidating” is one word I cannot award them. I won’t dwell on them for too long, as they don’t support my point. That point being, senior classes at Milton have, in my experience, been fear-inducing entities. I haven’t determined the effects that varying levels of intimidation have on the community, but I can use my past observations to inform my decisions today.
So, back to my question: Are we scary? I have an opinion on this, but I’d like to hear yours. As you contemplate your answer, here are some relating questions that I’d ask my peers.
1: Class of 2019, remember our sophomore year, when the freshmen would incessantly infringe on our rights to the tables and couches at the bottom of the Stu? What stopped us from laying down the law and fortifying our stronghold?
2: For those that were Transition Program mentors this year, can you believe the banter between us and the incoming students? How dare they feel comfortable enough to throw verbal jabs and joke with us? And how dare we let them?
Please do note, Reader, how ridiculous I sounded in those last two points. The fortification of strongholds?! Chill. And interclass banter? NOT that radical. What I’m trying to say is that the Class of 2019, whether we’re conscious of this or not, has slowly been tearing down social structures between classes. Years past seem to have equated scariness with strong leadership, and that idea is so old-fashioned.
Has anyone noticed underclassmen sitting in the upperclassmen section of Forbes?! I’m not mad about it, but can you imagine it? Milton, a place where lunch seating is not segregated by grade? I kind of like the sound of that. My mentioning of this unwritten rule may seem to be against what I’m advocating for, but perhaps speaking about these social practices at Milton is what we need to do.
To think that my class may not be as “scary” as the other senior classes scares me. We’re falling out of tradition and weirdly forging a new path. This path might be, however, what Milton has been waiting to travel down. I guess we shall see, or maybe my class might actually be scary to the underclassmen, and tradition is tougher to break than we think. I’ll only know if you let me know. So with that, make your own deposit. So long, and see you next time at ‘The Depot’.
Do you want a concern, opinion, or question of yours to be sorted, stored, valued, and remembered? Make a deposit to ‘The Depot’ today. Email olayeni_oladipo19@milton.edu and note whether you request anonymity. You can also drop off your letter in the TMP Office in Warren 304.