Madeleine McKinney ’26
As a seventh grader, the Upper School at Oak Knoll is different than what it would normally be if COVID-19 wasn’t around. There would be more activities, traditions, and socializing. One thing that I know will confuse seventh graders when COVID-19 is over is the hallways. Nowadays, there are one-way hallways which can sometimes be the longest route to class, such as when exiting Campion, we go around in a circle to the stairwell. I always say this to my friends because it’s true: “Next year, we’ll only know the longest route to class, not the shortest and most convenient.”
Once, before the Club Fair, I overheard some tenth graders talking about what Club Fair was like before the pandemic. You would go around to different booths, and I even heard something about candy! I felt so sad hearing about how fun it used to be. We all have to adapt to these new ways so that we can stay safe, and eventually we’ll go back to how it was before. There are fun trips that we would have taken as seventh graders, such as going to see A Christmas Carol as a play, but instead, we may watch it as a movie.
The upperclassmen seemed scary when I first came to Oak Knoll this year, since they are older and the seventh graders are new to the school. But we have to remember that at one point, they were in our position: new to the school and nervous. Now, the upperclassmen feel more like classmates to me. Since I’ve never been with highschoolers before, it’s very different and cool to have older students to look up to in the same building as you!
Overall, this year is different, but it’s always important to experience different adventures and meet new people along your journey in life, and we all know that this year will definitely be a story to tell.