~Sammy Bigelow, Class of 2024

A community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. The people in the Middlesex community are from all different backgrounds, and they work together to learn and deepen relationships with peers and teachers. I have lived in this community for eleven years as a faculty child. Another community that I am a part of is a small island off the coast of Lincolnville, Maine, called Islesboro. I have been going there in the summer for my entire life, and this past summer I volunteered at the community boating organization called Big Tree Boating. I volunteered to teach sailing to people ranging in age from small kids all the way up to adults. I will use the knowledge that I learned at Big Tree at Middlesex. Both places show kindness, courage, and curiosity. A thoughtful community needs these qualities.

While living on the Middlesex campus I see a lot of instances where the students show the qualities of kindness, courage, and curiosity and the school’s core values. These core values make up a nice and strong community. For example, when I was younger I would always have fun on field day running around with the students and stealing their colors. This was a big act of kindness because the students could have just shooed me away and not let me play with them. But, they showed kindness and let me have fun with them. Another time, I saw students fishing at Bateman’s Pond. I was interested in what they were doing so I went up to them and asked them about fishing. I had never really fished before so this was pretty cool to me. The students were happy to show me what they were doing and showed me how to cast my line into the pond. The students helped a little faculty kid that was curious about fishing and showed him how to fish. The last instance of community was when I was at the spring carnival and I wanted to try a rock climbing wall that was extremely high (I was very young). I was nervous to try it, but a student stepped up and asked me if I wanted him to show me that it was safe. I agreed and he started climbing to the top. Once he got up there he looked down and showed me that it was not scary. This student demonstrated courage and kindness by climbing a tall rock wall first and being very calm and collected while doing it. All of these examples are elements that you would want in a good community. Everyone at Middlesex is kind, courageous and helpful towards others, and no one is excluded from anything. 

While I was teaching at Big Tree, I was not really thinking about Middlesex.  I was focused on teaching sailing and ensuring safety. But, now looking back, I can see that I did the same things that the students did to help me but at Big Tree. During the last day of teaching there were some really high winds and I took a Laser out with another student who was really nervous to sail, but I helped him. I realize that Middlesex and Big Tree are not that different. They are caring, helping kids take chances, and letting kids explore their boundaries. These qualities also help make a community stronger and thrive. I will contribute to the Middlesex community by being courageous, kind, and curious. I am proud to have been  courageous and kind during my time at Big Tree last summer. This was something that I had never done before, so I was very nervous. But, as I got to know the kids better, I saw that Big Tree was a thoughtful and loving community, just like Middlesex.

I can use my experience from Big Tree and bring it with me to Middlesex.