By Tiffany Phan
Graduating Chief Financial Officer
GRAPHIC/ Tiffany Phan
To all the friends, family and teachers who helped and supported me along the way: thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m sorry I couldn’t include all of you in this photo, but please know that you’ve changed my life for the better.
Time is a funny thing. It’s both relative to the observer yet confined by definitions—every day is always 24 hours, and yet some days pass in the blink of an eye while others take forever to move on. It’s a fascinating concept, one I tried to study for Science Olympiad in my underclassmen years—shout out to ‘It’s About Time’!
Quite frankly, though, physics has never been my strong suit. At the end of the day, I don’t know what time is, from the sun’s movement to the steady decay of Cesium-133. What I do know is that I am forever reminded of that concept of relativity and simultaneous contradiction, of how each year goes by faster because it becomes a smaller fraction of your life.
That’s senior year. Important as any other year, if not more so? Yes, of course. But statistics and relativity won out in the end, timeless concepts as they are. This year blinked by, even when I thought it would never end. Bittersweet as it is, I’ll be glad to say goodbye—but before that day comes, I’d like to reminisce on a few experiences that I’m grateful for.
“THE GREAT GATSBY” (and other literature)
First on this list is a classic—or rather, multiple of them. I enjoy reading in general, but possibly no book has been as consequential to my growth as a person as “The Great Gatsby.” Junior Tiffany was absolutely captivated by the grandeur with which the American Dream crumbled, and that really went on to inform senior Tiffany’s life choices. (I wrote a short essay about this book. It got me into college.)
“Frankenstein” came in at a close second for delightful, morally ambiguous main characters—Victor holds a special place in my heart for how wholly and completely he ruins his life while clinging to the last shreds of his morality. I resonated with that, especially after college apps—isn’t being disappointed by the product of your time and effort the perfect metaphor for senior year?
This year also introduced me to “The Namesake,” which was a very devastating and relatable read. I’ve learned that to me, the best books are either about the inherently destructive nature of ambition, or a good, gutwrenching second-generation/Asian-American story. “The Namesake” definitely falls into the latter.
SCIENCE OLYMPIAD
This silly academic track-meet-style competition has possibly been the most defining characteristic of my entire high school career. That small family of 17 nerds from my freshman year has grown into a whopping team of 30, and I’m so proud of everything we’ve done.
SciOly is the epitome of no work without play, though there is definitely a lot of work. I’ve found joy in all aspects of the competition, from ear-shattering screams during awards to inhaling too much of whatever ammonium chloride and NaOH give off. I don’t have the words or space to explain my SciOly nostalgia, but know I can’t wait to be on the other side of competitions, finally terrorizing others.
RAMPAGE
I’d be remiss not to mention the paper I’m writing in! I’ve gained such a unique set of skills from all my time in Rampage, and it’s an experience I wouldn’t change for the world. I’ll miss the gossiping at late nights and the many (many) food and boba runs, and I’ll especially miss the (not-so) willing audience for my many rants and monologues. Thanks for the memories, guys.
My last piece of advice: Adobe InDesign can smell weakness. Never, ever show it your fear.
BOBA
Last but not least, this one is pretty self-explanatory. One day, I discovered I had free will, walked to a cafe, and the rest was history. Now, it’s a habit that I don’t think I’ll ever quite break. I see no reason to continue waxing poetic about that unfortunate reality—but truly, where would I be without this sweet drink?
CONCLUSION
I feel there is no one phrase or message I can give that would adequately sum up and end my senior year. I didn’t even manage to include everything I wanted to in this goodbye! What I will say is despite my mixed feelings about the approaching end, at the end of the day, I’m happy with how it went. Were there struggles? Yeah, but I wouldn’t be the same person now without them.
Next year, I’m moving to the East Coast for college—exciting, but also a little saddening. I’m ready for high school to be over, but I admit I’ll miss the people and all the experiences I’ve had, especially now that I won’t even be in-state. All I can do now is appreciate what has already passed, and look on to the future.
After all, time moves on, and all we can do is move forward.
ZOOM
Most people, understandably, hated Zoom learning. Personally, I’d been devastated by the school closures because I didn’t have anything else to do with my time, and I wanted to learn. I began to fear that this isolation would increase my fear of social isolation and permanently endanger my social skills.
But since no one was talking on those sad, sad video calls, I saw it as an opportunity. It’s a lot easier to be brave when your only audience is a bunch of boxes on a screen. I started speaking up, talking to my teachers more, and that’s the only reason I have social skills today. So thank you, Zoom, even if you’re why I can’t look at my phone without getting a headache anymore.