The Table
We trusted each other; we took care of each other; we bonded with each other. That isn’t just a beautiful thing to experience or witness, but it's also something to believe in, which I personally think is the most important thing above all else.
For this month's article, I had to think long and hard about what I wanted it to be about. It feels like by now I have written about everything I thought would make a good article. I was absolutely stuck on it; I couldn’t come up with any ideas.
But I overcomplicated this so much that I missed the material that was quite literally sitting in front of me, and to the left of me, and also to the right of me. It wasn’t until Mr. Kelly suggested this that I realized how perfect it was. So, this article is about the people I sit with during Journalism.
The person who sat to my left was the energetic and bizarre Adyel Lantigua; the person who sat to the right of me was the pioneer of women's voices at Comp Sci High herself Laila Ayala; the person right across from me was the future marine, Moralye Bangoura.
This table, along with this class, was by far my favorite in the whole school. The class was my favorite because Mr. Kelly was a chill-ass teacher, he was motivating, he was lenient, he was fair, he was passionate, but most importantly, he cared. He cared about the class, he cared about the students in it, he cared about the writing, and he cared about the students who would read our published articles. This guy really has a heart when it comes to this. This table was my favorite because of the people in it — we wouldn’t just work together. We would help each other. We would help each other with our articles, with our personal issues, with our writing blockages. We were there for each other both inside and outside of that classroom. We trusted each other; we took care of each other; we bonded with each other. That isn’t just a beautiful thing to experience or witness, but it's also something to believe in, which I personally think is the most important thing above all else.
This table wasn’t formed right away, however. At first, we had assigned seats and I sat at one of the tables at the back of the classroom with Cris Vargas and Adyel. I had never really talked to Adyel before we sat together at that table, but when we sat together we got along quickly. Almost immediately we started making jokes, having some casual conversations, and occasionally some deeper ones. That lasted about the entirety of the first trimester. Then in the second trimester, we went into certain tables for certain kinds of writing. I ended up moving to the front table closer to the class entrance door; now I was sitting with Laila, Emilie, Evelyn, and Morlaye.
Me and Evelyn were already decently close prior to this seating arrangement due to a summer program we did together called Student Diplomacy Corps, where we spent a month together with our students in the Massachusetts College Of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts (which is obviously where North Adams is, since it's right in the name of the university).
I was also close with Laila because we have almost all the same classes, and we were in the same advisory. Same with Emilie as well, but not so much Morlaye, despite the fact that we had some of the same classes and we were in the same advisory. We all got along fine; we had some nice conversations; me and Evelyn would also reminisce about our trip to Massachusetts occasionally, too. This table was also a good one just like the one in trimester one. However this table only lasted about a quarter or maybe half of the second trimester, then people started sitting elsewhere and moving around, and eventually Adyel had found his way back into the same table as me. Then it was me, Adyel, Laila, and Morlaye. That was the moment The Table was formed.
Throughout the rest of trimester two and the entirety of trimester three our bonds with each other would steadily grow stronger. There was never really a dull moment at our table, even when one or two of us were absent every moment was still entertaining and fulfilling. We played games together, challenged each other in things like tic,tac,toe or arm wrestling, had meaningful conversations about important topics, made jokes about each other, and we even drew on the tables together until Ms.Rebitzer told us to knock it off.
We have had emotional moments, like when we all watched in amusement when Mr. Kelly literally cried after reading my last draft. We have had happy moments like when we laughed about thinking of Morlaye having any actual authority over anyone. We have had prideful moments like when me and Adyel supported Laila’s article (we all know which one). Nothing went unspoken about at our table, and we didn’t even care who heard us.
This table has honestly been one of the best parts of my high school experiences and it has given me a lot of fulfilling memories and it has given me friends that I truly care about and enjoy spending time with. I am more than grateful to have been in this class. I appreciate everything that class has offered and taught me. I am proud of my contribution to this class. I appreciate everyone at that table, and I especially appreciate Mr. Kelly for everything he has done for me, for his students, and for his classes.