Cherishing friendship and lessons taught by life.

~Vinny Hogan, Class of 2025 

“Many people will walk in and out of your life,
 but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart” 

~Eleanor Roosevelt

There I was, looking for my toothbrush, on a cool September morning, getting ready for my school trip to Windsor Mountain in New Hampshire.  The summer had flown right by in front of my eyes, and I was still adjusting to the idea of going back to school, let alone sleeping away from home for two nights.  Who would’ve known that I would learn the values of friendship, teamwork and joy on a trip to New Hampshire with a bunch of 8th graders.

Friendship is essential in teamwork, and in intense activity.  Arguably one of the most important themes for humans, I found playing manhunt on Thursday morning increased friendship among my advisors.During the first activity of the day around 10:00, my advisor came on canoes to an island called Windaco and we played  manhunt on the island until it was time to leave back to shore.As my advisor and I cannoned into the middle of the lake, our consular had us stop and line our boats up so we could play a game.   As we slowed our boats, the feeling of fear about capsizing the canoes was immeasurable.   After the game, we paddled  to Windaco Island in the middle of the lake.  We played a game of manhunt when we got there, and the cool pine needles on my bare feet seemed to wake my senses. We had a blast and played manhunt on the island until it was time to leave back to shore. The morning was exciting, fun, and a little stressful, and as I was canoeing back to shore , I thought about how friendship empowers all emotions in a positive way.  If you have an opportunity to make a friend, it will make you happier and it will make you a better person.

Teamwork is a necessity to overcome obstacles and in life.  This lesson was enforced in my mind when playing broomball with my advisory on our trip to Windsor Mountain. As we stepped into the arena and got ready to play broomball, the teams were split up into a four versus four.  The ball bounced three times, and the game was on.  Eli, being the athletic freak he is, easily scored the first point of the game.  “GOALLLLL!”  Exclaimed Carlos, our consular for the period.  The cards had been in our favor to win the game the moment it started, and we played with teamwork, passing and celebrating together after each positive play.  When it was all said and done, we had an 8-2 victory in the Windsor World Championship of the Fitz Advisory in 2023. When I was putting my shoes back on after the easy win, I wondered why the victory we earned wasn’t hard fought for. The answer clicked in my head as soon as the question was asked.  We simply played better as a team.  When the opposition is talented individually, but doesn’t know how to play as a team, it is nearly impossible to lose.  This made it more clear to me than ever that teamwork is important in every situation.

In life, you should find some time to enjoy yourself without needing to do anything.  I observed this philosophy when watching my advisor play an exciting game called taskmaster during our time at Windsor Mountain.Taskmaster is a game where a member from a group goes up to compete with other members of other groups to complete one common objective.  I spectated the entirety of the game because I was tired and I wanted to relax.  I knew my boys would take home the win anyway.  It was overtime.  Our team was tied with another; one task to decide it all.  The task was to make the “best noise” and the winner takes all.  Cooper led off the competition with a resounding “Spoonie!”  Followed by an impressive “Kirk Cousins is my dad!” From Anthony ji.  The fate of fates rested on the taskmaster’s shoulders.  As he raised Cooper’s hand, all spectators swarmed him, cheering and celebrating in unison, Cooper’s hands raised in triumph.  In bed that night, I thought about how much I enjoyed watching the taskmaster game even though I didn’t participate.  I then realized you can have fun without getting directly involved in any given situation.  If you aren’t selected or don’t wish to participate in a certain activity, make the most of watching it, and you’ll be surprised by how much you enjoy it.

Learn the lessons life teaches you so you can teach them yourselves. 

Values and knowledge universally get passed along.