~Jack McBride, Class of 2024

A life without friends is not a life at all 

When I heard we were going to Windsor Mountain for our 9th grade class trip, I wasn’t very happy. We had already been to Windsor Mountain in 8th grade. I wanted to experience something different. As soon as we got there, the mood was very dull. It was cold and rainy. But what I was about to learn was that this 9th grade trip was very different from last year’s 8th grade trip. I was about to make memories with my friends that would last forever.

It was an early morning at Windsor Mountain, and all the 9th graders had just finished their breakfast, but we couldn’t go outside. It was pouring outside, so we decided to make our own game. We all gathered up together, found a balloon, and decided to play the game: don’t let the balloon touch the ground. I haven’t really thought about that game since Windsor, but now, thinking back on this game, I realize that the simple game that started that rainy morning really brought us together as a grade. That game may have been frustrating at times. Whether we were running around the field or jumping off our bunks to catch the balloon, it sure was a lot of fun. The best part about that game wasn’t winning or losing; it was that we were all having fun together. What we did in this mess hall carried on for hours of non-stop fun. Whether it was in the cabins or outside, or even playing in the greeting hall, this one game that we played turned our mornings and nights into countless fun times.

Friends are the most important thing you can have. It was a late night at Windsor Mountain, as we were just about to finish up a campfire with the last song. Then one of our teachers, Fitz, offered to take us down to the waterfront to see all of the shooting stars in the sky. So we all decided to join him in the pitch black to walk down the muddy and rocky hill to get down there. 

During that hike, we had no clue where we were going. We were just hoping that Fitz knew. When we got deeper into the woods a little bit into the walk, we thought we had lost Fitz. So we all started yelling for him as loud as we could, but what we didn’t know was that he was right in the middle of us. I feel that I can say, with no hesitation, that this was definitely one of the best memories I had on that trip. Being there all together, laughing and trying to yell at Fitz, was a lot of fun. But the best part by far was all 25 of us making a Conga line and walking up the steep, rocky hill singing “Congo Congo Congo.” It’s these moments that all of us will cherish forever. As Fitz always says, “a life without friends isn’t a life at all.” 

On our last night at Windsor, late at night, after dinner, we all gathered together to sit around the campfire to sing some songs. As we all started to trickle in and find seats around the campfire, we were all looking up to try to see the shooting stars in the sky. When all the kids were finally there, we began singing and having fun. When you look up, all you can see is the pitch-black sky with hundreds of shooting stars in it. The trees around us made almost a circle, with the smoke of the fire getting higher and higher. We could hear every single word everyone said, just by how quiet it was.

Then all the quiet started turning into music when we all sang along with Fitz to Wagon Wheel and Country Roads, and one of the best parts was when Alex Lou, a new student this year, decided to stand up and sing a song by Maroon. That’s what made it great to sing together. 

I don’t remember that it was cold and rainy. I remember the fun memories I made with my classmates. We learned new games and songs. 

We learned to make the best of any situation.