Ryan

As a freshman, I dreamed of how smart I was going to be by the time I became a senior. I'd be a changed man; there would be no math problem I couldn't answer, no book I couldn't fully comprehend. I'd be able to solve a Rubik's cube with my mind. I'd just be that smart. Now that I am a senior, I am (surprise, surprise) not the super-genius I thought I would be. Has my Cate experience been a failure? Have I wasted four years of my precious adolescence? 

The truth is, though I am not a human calculator, some things have changed. I smile a lot more. I think a lot harder. I make an effort to take care of myself. Waking up early isn't so hard anymore. I know the importance of putting things in perspective. Sports are no longer foreign activities. Writing is no longer a strenuous chore. I can speak in front of a theater full of people without having a heart attack. I now constantly ask myself if I am trying my best. And I became really good at laughing at myself. 

Am I a genius? If anything, all I know is how little I truly know. However, Cate has inspired me to learn as much as I can in the little time that I have. Being at Cate has fostered growth in aspects I had not anticipated, yet now benefit greatly from. I never knew that my Cate experience would end up like this, but I am so glad that it did. Thanks, Cate.