alumni day - The Taft School

✶ COMMENCEMENT 2004OPPOSITE PAGE, BOB FALCETTI; LEFT, HIGHPOINT PICTURES; RIGHT, BOB FALCETTI Jean Maher presents Katie McCabe ’04 witha senior athletic award. Katie also received theMarion Hole Makepeace award as the girl whohas given most to Taft athletics. Parents and graduates enjoyed a post-graduation luncheon on Snyder Field this year,just the other side of the arch from Centennial Quadrangle.ANDREW EISEN ’04, head monitorAs I attempted to picture my first days atTaft, I recalled the visions of an unfamiliarplace—visions that elicited wonderand were filled with an endless possibilityof accomplishing anything and ofbeing anyone. Now I see a place that isanything but unfamiliar. Taft knows us;we know Taft. We’ll never forget whatthe Jig was, or what “the scene” meant,or what the practice rooms were reallyused for. But with that increased familiaritycomes a decrease in possibility. It’sonly natural as you grow older; certainpossibilities become impossible. It’s dishearteningperhaps—but it’s true.As a lower mid, I dreamed of playingvarsity lacrosse, and I told myself thatif I hadn’t quit playing hockey in 6th gradeI would be playing under Mr. Maher.Well, I have yet to make a single JV team,not to mention varsity, and now I neverwill. When I was four, I dreamt of ridinga two-wheeler. I’m 18 now, and each daythat passes makes that dream seem lessand less achievable. And although mostof you can ride a bike, and although mostof you have played at least one JV sportduring your years at Taft, I’m sure thatin some way, some goal that you had aslower mid or mid has gone unrealized.We all have dreams and expectationsof ourselves that go unmet. This may seemrather bleak, but it does not need to be,and in fact, it should not be. Taft does nothinge on one’s individual goals. Your Taftexperience should not be made or brokenby the aspirations that you did or did notrealize. Taft is bigger than you. Rather, asyou look back and attempt to recall Taft,you should think upon the experience—the WHOLE experience—not just theclasses you aced and the ones you failed, orthe teams you made and the ones that cutyou, but the bigger picture. The afternoonsyou spent by the pond wasting time. Orthe mornings you spent in the Jig killingyour debit account. And the nights beforethe big tests when you got 14 grades at12:30 for an off-corridor association. Andall the times that you spent in the companyof your friends. Those are what matter.Those are what make the Taft experience.What made my Taft experience is allof you, the kids in front of me and theteachers behind that have made cominghere every day for four years so incredibleand such a pleasure and a joy. I willnever forget the time we spent together.Graduation is bittersweet. Whetheryou are the kid who has been crying openlyall week about how much you will missTaft or the one who has been crying forfour years about how much you cannot waitto graduate, at some point, you will beswept with a longing for Taft, and the daysspent here and you will be overcome withsome sorrow about your departure. Myadvice is to put that someday far away.Enjoy the next week, the next night, thenext few hours. Try to appreciate the factthat these are the last days that we will shareas a class, as a united group. Take a lastwalk by the pond, grab a last snack at theJig, enjoy a last stroll down the halls ofCentennial and CPT. Hope that you’vetaken in this experience for all it’s worth,then take off the afternoon, and have agreat time. I think we’ve all earned that.Taft Bulletin Summer 200443