My High School Experience at Thomas Jefferson High School

In one word, my years at TJ have been

Quite lunar.

Of, relating to, or resembling the moon.

Let me explain: now graduation can’t come

Any sooner,

But 4 years ago, I never envisioned myself here, in June.

Freshman year I was new to the game,

Ego boosted from middle school.

I quickly learned TJ was not the same,

(Getting an ‘A’ in Biology was considered cool).

I wasn’t familiar with all of TJ’s quirks:

The SysLab kids, the studious jocks, the crowds of Namaste dances.

In the end, I muttered “whatever works”,

Trying to avoid their eager glances.

Sophomore year I really tuned in.

Even though it was the “forgotten year”,

Let me tell you, CHUM is to be remembered.

Map Quizzes, Hotspots… not easy, let’s be clear.

Junior Year. Ah. Conquered by few, survived by some,

Dreaded by all.

Physics, AP Chem, Calculus…where did they

Even come from??

It was hard, but I loved it.

I really felt the TJ Spirit.

Perhaps plodding through the essence of this school

(Difficult)

Helped me embrace the golden rule:

When you study, study hard.

When you play, play hard.

After a year of hair-pulling and head-banging,

Colleges beckoned to me.

Where could I see myself?

I honestly didn’t know which college it would be.

Thanks to my counselor, I got through that, and more.

Colleges were not just calling, but knocking on my door.

She helped me get through issues that I could not handle alone,

With her help, I can see that I had truly grown.

I had an idea of who I was in this TJ community,

I was making my mark day by day.

Junior year is the year I first

Came to see the way

That this school made me who I am

And I made it what it is.

2-0-1-2!

You wish you were one, too!
Senior year came and flew.

And at its close I don’t know what to do.

Where did this year go? College acceptances and rejections.

Letters, scholarships, and final selections…

Varsity sports,

FINAL Reports,

Friday Night Lights,

Familiar Last Sights.

Monticello Maniacs,

The Sea of red, white, and blue,

Oh, how I will miss you.

After 4 years, how can I explain my TJ experience in mere words?

I would have to shout the homecoming chants,

Reenact I-Night dances,

Copy for you the stacks of college transcripts,

(As well as stacks of both failed and aced tests),

I can’t tell you, I have to show you…

So I guess, in a sense, my experience has been…lunar.

The moon is mysterious, dark and light.

Its path is quite well known,

But even after extensive study,

It’s still one confounding piece of stone.

Okay, okay, it’s a piece of flying frozen rock.

But looks can be deceiving!

Just ask the varsity football athlete,

A Princeton scholarship he is receiving.

Like the moon, sometimes you see the light,

Things go well and life is alright.

But other days, it’s as dark as dark can be,

You get sluggish, depressed, downright cranky…

One thing to understand, though,

TJ is periodic, everything comes and goes

Bad days give way to good ones,

Just as highs give way to lows.

Just as the moon eventually returns to its original position,

I saw who I was in 9^th grade, and who I am now.

Yeah, I got hit by some craters along the way,

I shed pieces of myself, what can I say…

Sometimes I forgot my way, I truly was lost,

But this TJ community kept me coming back, no matter what the cost.

It had a gravitational pull that I can’t explain,

I know I will never have an experience like this again.

Experience, TJ, my love,

Truly, I say.

Because I can now

Say I truly

Love my TJ experience.