The writing is on the wall. It's only a matter of time before Jasmine and Samantha leave the Gallup family bubble to join another bubbly institution (hopefully, an institution of higher learning). Both girls have received offers of admission to college; and they will soon hear from other schools of interest.
It won't be long before those hypothetical plans, those virtual tours, and those academic application essays; turn into real bricks and mortar dorm rooms, real room mates, real textbooks, real college food... real exhiliration, and real insecurity.
I remember the feeling.
Maybe you remember it too.
As for me; I left my own family bubble, my hometown, and my childhood friends back in 1980, in 11th grade, when I left Broughton high school in Raleigh, to attend the School of Science and Math in Durham. This year, 30 years later, I attended the reunion of both of those schools.
Before the Broughton reunion; I decided to contact some of the friends that I had from childhood; kids... now adults... that I knew from the Five Points neighborhood, from Sherwood Bates Elementary, and from Daniels Middle School. Ultimately, I was able to reach a lot of them by e-mail, and see a few of them in person. These were essentially friends from my 'youth'; friends that share my experience in the Southern suburban culture of Raleigh in the 70s.
Although I share the same heritage and experience as my peers from Broughton; I still have a more unbreakable... a more cohesive connection with my cohorts from the School of Science and Math; my first home away from home. Whereas I could mingle, reminisce, and recollect things with my friends from Broughton; it was hard to step outside of that bubble of time and of place. Perhaps, if I continue to keep in touch with my earlier friends, then that ease and candor will develop; but I fear that those childhood connections, at the moment, are still somewhat eclipsed by the connections that I made as a young (but aspiring) adult.
And so... I imagine, things might develop in a similar fashion for Jasmine and Samantha. They are already making connections of their own, in high school; and they will go on to make even stronger bonds in college.
Jasmine has shared in the crucible of a drama production, with her friends at Raleigh Charter, for Antigone and for The Importance of Being Earnest. In Antigone, she was a part of the (Greek) Chorus... a literal, and figurative, cog in the machinery of the supporting ensemble. In Earnest, she played a more central role; for which we give much thanks and credit to the drama teacher, Ms. Rasnick, and to Jasmine's own persistence and talent.
Samantha's connections seem inevitably to be associated with music. For example; her pre-audition flute recordings were made with the help of a friend from the Davidson Summer Experience who is an amateur sound engineer; all of her parties and gatherings are attended by friends from the school band and from the jazz band club; and (to her great credit) she was accepted to the Triangle Youth Philharmonic orchestra, for the first time, this year.
Samantha is also a member of the RCHS volleyball team which exceeded expectations this year, and set a high bar for all of the Phoenix teams to come. In her senior year, the team advanced to the state finals; winning difficult games against arch-rival, NCSS&M, and against Riverside, at home; and winning a semi-final game against Princeton, on the road; before losing to a perennial contender, Hendersonville HS, at Reynold Coliseum (at NCSU).
Now the time is coming to count down those days at Raleigh Charter; take those senior photos; buy class rings; send out graduation invitations; and prepare to leave for a new school and new endeavors. Soon we'll be making new friends, taking new classes, trying new things, and learning to do things we never did before. Like the Enterprise; we're setting out "to explore strange new worlds... to boldly go..." beyond our childhood bubble.
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