Mollie

I wasn’t happy with my school choices at home. The public school was too big, and the only private school was very traditional. I’d gone to Montessori, then traditional school, and Putney seemed like a mix of the two. Still, when I came here, there was a little culture shock. New England was very different. But more and more this is becoming my home.

There are so many opportunities here, so much I want to try--stained glass, weaving, photography. I wasn’t exposed to much art at home--I had no idea what printmaking was. Now I’ve done it, and sculpture, drawing, and jazz. Also, I thought an “active” thing had to be something like soccer, but here yoga and ballet are activities.

What’s great about Putney is that you don’t have to know what you’re doing at first. For one of my evening activities I did Celtic traditions—singing, learning to play the pennywhistle, contra dancing. And I’ve done American Sign Language, which I had taught myself at home for about two years. That was really good because I’d been learning from online videos, and not always correctly. A real high point was a project I did for Project Week. I translated a song from our songbook into ASL—James Wallace helped me--and then the whole school sang it and we recorded it for my project. I love music at Putney. When I’m at All School Sing, I’m so glad I came to this school. At first it seemed like a cheesy way of getting the whole school together, but it’s a great way--you just SING, you can yell, seniors scream! The song is all about rum! Sing is something different for everyone--for some it is sacred, for others it’s fun. That’s the best part.

The food here is so good and so fresh, and I loved it that when my parents were here, eating spinach salad, I had helped pick the spinach! My parents had never seen spinach so big!

Two of the jobs I’ve had so far have been in the kitchen. I have to get up pretty early for breakfast crew, but the guys who work there are so great and hilarious, scurrying around, and I stumble in and they greet me with a smile and a “Good morning!” And at once you feel good to be there. I love the work program. I know I’m going to have to muck cow barn at some point. When you’re doing your job it can feel like a hard-knock life in a really good way; you’re proud. I like knowing that I did my part. And everybody else is in it with you.

I got to be a tour guide this year, which I really enjoyed, because because I love showing people the school. Next year I’m going to be a dorm head. The leadership positions here are great. I think it’s such a unique attribute of this school that we get to I get to help decide–I have a semi-influence! We have a chance to say, “This is the school we want to have, and we can make it that way.” I want to be on Admissions Committee my senior year.

I’ve always loved English and especially writing. I’ve been doing a lot more writing here; during last Project Week, I made a book of my micro-fiction stories. I never really liked science, but since I’ve been here, I understand it better.  And not having final exams doesn’t mean you don’t work hard!  Project Week is a time to set your mind to something and get it done, whether it’s learning something new or perfecting a skill.

Putney is busy, so you learn how to manage your time. Something I say about Putney, and it might sound kind of obvious, but you can’t just be here and think you’re going to sail through. You can’t half be here. You have to live it!