Category Archives: Personal Experiences

Last Word

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By: Anonymous Class of 2025

Many of us have warm memories of leaving home to begin a new adventure. Maybe when you  were a young boy or girl, and you went off to summer camp in Maine for the first time. Or  maybe when your parents proudly dropped you off at Hebron Academy and you began your life as a boarding student. 

My memories of leaving Afghanistan in August 2021 to come to the United States are a little  different. We had to flee the Taliban with one day’s notice, struggle through screaming crowds  and loud gunfire to reach Kabul Airport, spend four days huddled inside the airport praying for  an evacuation flight, and inside a packed military-transport plane during the long flight to Qatar and safety. 

These memories still make me sad—and a little afraid. But then I have other memories— beautiful memories—like the day my host family here at Hebron, the Frumientos, took me to their home for the first time. “This house is for you,” their mother, Laurie, said, “this is your home. You should always feel comfortable here.” 

Then they showed me my room, and I shut the door and cried. I cried about  everything I had left behind, but also about everything I had gained. A wonderful new school. A  sense of safety and security. A loving host family whose kindness I can never repay. 

I am so grateful for all that Hebron has provided. So many teachers and advisors have worked  tirelessly for my success. I want to give special thanks to Mr. Hanby, Mrs. Dunbridge, and Mrs. Willer, who were always there for me. I will carry the lessons I have learned at Hebron for the  rest of my life. 

But to be honest, nothing I have learned here, or what I will learn in college, will be more  important than the lessons I learned from my father. He was and will always be my greatest teacher. 

My father loved to study, but as a young man he had to leave school and go to work to support  his family. I am the oldest, and my father wanted all of  his children to get great educations—especially his daughters. 

I think that’s why he was so  determined for me to go to school, even though I was born in a small village where most  families thought it was a scandal for girls to go to school. 

In fact, when I started school as a young child, many of the families in our village changed their  attitudes towards us. People stopped visiting our house. My parents’ friends turned their backs  on them. That’s when my parents decided we would move to a city, where it was more common for girls to go to school. 

But even there, people objected.  That’s when my father decided I should go to SOLA, my  all-girls boarding school in Kabul.

His life-changing decision for me to go to SOLA is what eventually led me to Hebron, and the life  I have today. 

When he dropped me off at SOLA for the first time, he said to me: 

“Be strong and  passionate in your life. 

Don’t listen when people say you can’t do something because you are a  girl. Become the person everyone is fighting to be.” 

That’s what I am trying to do. Thank you to Hebron for helping me become the person I am  fighting to be.

My Mom- Tiny Love Story

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By: Trace B. Johnson ’26

My Mama

I love my mama. Ever since my first memory to every morning when I call her and hear her voice, I feel wrapped in love. I love everything about my mama, her smile, her beautiful deep blue eyes, her love for sports and our family. I’ll always cherish the warmth of her hugs and the way she makes me feel at home. There is no other person on earth like my mama, there is not a single person I look up to, respect, or love more. She has taught me to be me and I will love her forever.

The Importance of Galentine’s ❤️

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By: Ceci Ross ’28

On Valentine’s Day, we take the time to celebrate with the ones we love. Most people call their Valentine their boyfriend or girlfriend. It is usually celebrated as a special, intimate day between two people’s growing relationship. A lot of people might find themselves being single or lonely on Valentine’s Day. But there is one thing I’ve discovered that can be just as special as having a date. It’s called Galentine’s! Galentine’s is a day to celebrate the girls around you, who lift you up, and to share a special celebration of your friendship.

I got to spend an awesome night with all my girlies + Oakley!  We had so much fun and thanks to our awesome hostess Clover Pross!  

As many say, guys come and go but friendship lasts a lifetime. So cherish the ones around you and ball your eyes out to the Notebook. Trust me, you won’t regret it 😉.

Special hugs to all my girlies!

Love, 

Ceci Ross.

Mia Hancock’s Winter Break

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By Mia Hancock ’28

Over winter break, I got to go to New York City, and it was so amazing! I have been before but it’s such a big city there is always something new to do. One of the best parts was seeing a Broadway show. I had never seen anything like it before—the lights, the music, and the actors were all incredible. 

I also got to spend time with some of my family who live there. It was nice catching up with them and hearing all their stories about living in such a big city. They took me to some great restaurants and showed me around a little which was exhilarating.

And, of course, I went to Times Square. It was SO bright and busy, even at night. It kind of felt like I was in a movie. I took a bunch of pictures, went into some entertaining stores, and bought some cute souvenirs. Overall, it was such a fun trip, and I’m already hoping I can go back again soon!

Duplicity 

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By Laura Zarko ’26

Chameleons are animals who change their color depending on different factors such  as light, temperature or emotions associated with anything that happens around them. They  are frightened easily and very often are a target of predators. Chameleons are very small and  harmless animals. However, these skills very often save their lives. It is weird to compare  yourself to a chameleon but if you think about it, we function pretty much the same way. It is  important to always stay yourself and don’t let other people affect the kind of person you  want to be. But sometimes I find myself in situations where it’s hard to be myself. Many  things go through my head. Should I fit in or should I be different? Should I be better or just  let them take the lead? Sometimes I don’t even think. I just pretend to be someone else without  even noticing it. How can I make them like me? That is the main question I used to ask  myself. The question that was causing my duplicity and sometimes still is.  

The last time I was asking myself this question, I was on a plane. It was August 27th  and I was flying to Boston. It was the start of my year at Hebron Academy. I was alone on a  plane flying to another continent where I didn’t know a soul. It was like that question was  stuck in my head and it wouldn’t leave until there was something or someone to just make it  disappear. Just like that word on the top of your tongue that you just can’t remember, that one  embarrassing moment that you can’t get outside of your head. As we were landing the  question started to get even more annoying. At this point it was getting crazy, jumping around  my head not letting me think. When I first started talking to everyone at the airport I was 

smiling, shaking hands and introducing myself. But as I started to get to know everyone, the  question was taking over. I agreed to everything anyone said and never said what I thought. “I  love rock music,” somebody said. “Me too!” I agreed even though I have never listened to a  single rock song and rock was my absolute worst genre. I started to question whether I was  doing the right thing by listening to the question because nobody really seemed to care that I loved rock music. They all just smiled. I thought maybe they would do the same if I told them  I actually like classical music and pop. Maybe they would even ask questions and be  interested in it. But what if they just thought I was weird for liking it. I didn’t want to take the  risk of them not liking me, so I just stuck with being a rock music lover. The rest of the night  at the airport I continued listening to the question and, in addition to being the rock music  lover, I also became a Formula 1 fan, a poetry lover and my favorite color became brown.  That one really hurt. 

Later that night we were in the bus driving to the school. It was late at night and the  drive was long. A lot of people were sleeping, but I was wide awake thinking about the  question. I was sitting in the front part of the bus by myself looking outside at the night sky.  My attention was caught by one of my favorite constellations, Cassiopeia. As I was looking at  it I remembered how good it felt to think about something I truly love, which for me is  astronomy. I got lost in my thoughts the second I looked up at the night sky and the thought  of all of those things I said I liked and people I pretended to be that day made the question  disappear just a little from my head. I realized I made some really good friends that day but if  that friendship is based on a lie, then it doesn’t really mean much. However, even that  realization didn’t make the question completely disappear from my head. 

The question was there until one thought that came to my head. I thought of a  chameleon. A chameleon changes its colors depending on its surroundings. That’s what I did  that day. I changed my colors. I changed who I am so people wouldn’t think badly of me just 

like a chameleon changes colors so it wouldn’t be eaten. The thought of that made me feel  bad, like all the friends I made that day weren’t really my friends. But then I realized that  even when a chameleon changes its color and you can’t see it, it is still there and it is still a  chameleon. So even though I sometimes change who I am, even though I act differently in  front of different people, I am still a human. A human that makes mistakes. And when I feel  safe enough around those people, I will change my color back to the original one. I don’t  think the question will ever completely disappear and that is okay. Humans are social creatures  and being a part of a group is in human nature, so sometimes we simply do what seems the  best in that moment even though we might regret it later. It is just important to remember that  sometimes it’s okay to be a chameleon but it is never okay to lose your real color.

Trip To Africa

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By Ronan Newell ’26

This summer, during the first two weeks of August, I spent my time volunteering at an animal sanctuary and reservation outside of Windhoek, Namibia. For background context: Namibia, a vast country that was once a part of South Africa, gained its independence in March, 1990. The country is situated to the northwest of South Africa, with a wide variety of landscapes and biomes that differ in both climate and animal life. In the west of the country, there is a large desert that meets directly with the ocean, which is known as the Skeleton Coast, named after the many famous shipwrecks that fill the coast with “ghost ships”. The rest of the country, roughly the size of Texas, is a flat, dry savannah biome teeming with wildlife. In the north, Namibia is home to one of Africa’s largest national parks, Etosha National Park. Over the last 12 months, Etosha is experiencing its worst drought in the past 100 years. Plants have stopped growing, watering holes have dried up, and animals are dying in droves. The purpose of my trip was to help rehabilitate animals that were not deemed able to live in the wild with the intention to release them from captivity eventually. 

To do this I spent a week sleeping in a tent in the Namibian savannah, on a project called Na’ankuse Wildlife Reservation and Animal Sanctuary. Once I was there, I did various activities alongside roughly 40 other volunteers. Some were there to complete PhDs, others to conduct research, and some were simply seeking to take a break from day-to-day life. The activities that I did include working alongside the anti-poaching unit, feeding and rehabilitating small animals as well as large carnivores, building a trap to catch an injured cheetah, observing elephants who have been injured, working and teaching at a non-profit school, and many other opportunities that presented themselves day-to-day. Overall, my biggest takeaway from my trip was just how different life truly is on other sides of the world. From the people to the animals, to the way of life and people’s values, truly nothing was the same as the life I grew up living, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have experienced something so out of the ordinary. 

“Meeeeeh!”

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By Kellen Anthoine ’26

09:54, Sofitel, Rome, Italy. Our plane had just landed at the FCO Airport less than two hours ago and my parents and I had just finished unpacking. We were finally ready to walk around and explore the tourist – filled Rome before my dad had his first meeting. Seconds after walking out of the front door we heard a sound: “Meeeeeh!” It sounded like a balloon being slowly deflated, except a lot louder, and it caught me off guard. I looked towards the noise and saw a man with a dramatic frown on his face looking at me and my family. He was across the street standing directly in front of a stack of two milk crates with a cutting board on top. On the cutting board there was this jelly-like blob. I watched him pick up the blob, which I could now see had a face, form it into a ball, and throw it on the cutting board, making the sound “Meeeeeh!” We walked past him and he didn’t say a word.

Our first destination was the Spanish Steps, which were only a couple of minutes walk from the Sofitel. We arrived at the top, looking down over the beautiful Italian skyline. The air was filled with the smells of pasta and pizza, the playing of street musicians on accordions and violins, and also with the sound of “Meeeeeh!” Right there, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps was another man with the same milk crate setup in front of him, picking up and throwing another blob on it. Every time it hit the ground, the sound it made lit up the whole area.

Next we went to the Pantheon, where the sound followed us. Then the Colosseum. Everywhere we went, the sound of “Meeeeeh!” was present. All throughout the city these guys were there, watching us and anticipating a sale. 

This annoying sound made it a relief to get out of Rome. The moment we entered the train to Sorrento was the last time I ever heard that sound and I will probably never hear it again. The absence of the noise was a unique type of bliss, an ending of an aggravation. Outside of the big touristy city, there were no more salesmen trying to get us to buy their cheap products. Instead, we got to experience the true essence of Italy: quality food, good weather, and kind people.

All in all this whole story’s my way of saying how much better it is to stay out of the biggest tourist-oriented locations when traveling. Tourist traps, while beautiful, are full of people, noise, and scams that make it hard to appreciate their beauty. While Sorrento isn’t exactly unknown, it’s still less popular than Rome and because of that, is a lot more authentic.

The Round Square International Conference

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By: Sylvie Gill ’26

The Round Square conference was separated into three major event days: An adventure day, democracy day, a service day, and a day for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as an arrival day. On arrival day, our delegation drove to the Runda campus of Brookhouse Schools located in Nairobi, Kenya for registration and activities. Just on our first day at the conference, we met many people from many different countries including Australia, Germany, Canada, India, China, Argentina, Kenya itself, and many others. That evening we watched a musical performance to welcome us all to the conference. After the performance, we proceeded to the Hostels where we would be staying.

On the day of the opening ceremony, we woke up bright and early at 5:30 am and got ready for the day. We then traveled to the Karen campus of Brookhouse Schools for breakfast. Both of the campuses of Brookhouse were incredible. The Runda campus was newer and resembled a giant luxury resort, while the Karen campus was older and more homey, with a building that was practically a castle! After we had breakfast at the Karen campus, we traveled to a large stadium building in the city where we were to have the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was amazing, consisting of a speech from the former first lady of Kenya, an introduction to the conference by the leaders of the RSIC board, and multiple Kenyan cultural performances. That evening we returned to the hostel to get some sleep before the next big day.

The next day was our group’s adventure day. This meant that we traveled in buses to the national reserve that is located in the city Nairobi. Nairobi is the only capital city in the entire world that has a national reserve in its city. The nature reserve was very extensive and had many different animals roaming around. We saw tons of rhinos, ostriches, giraffes, lions, and countless zebras. That night, we arrived at the campground where we would be staying. We ate dinner and watched an amazing cultural performance shown to us by some members of the Masai Mara tribe of Kenya. That night, we slept in tents surrounded by the Kenyan wilderness. 

On the second activity day, we traveled to the Runda campus once again for our democracy day. We watched a conference-like presentation of over five different activists, teachers, politicians, and scientists talking about the concept of New Africa which was RSIC 2024’s theme. New Africa is the idea that Africa and the countries in it are much more than the preconceptions many people may have. Kenya and many other African countries are working towards, and in many cases already are, innovative, sustainable, fair, and democratic. After the presentation, we split into different groups, called barazas, to discuss the topics we learned about during the presentation. Then, to get a real taste of Kenyan culture and hospitality, that night we stayed with parents of some of the students from Brookhouse schools. It was very interesting to see how life in Kenya was different to life in the USa. Many things were the same such as the cars people drove and the use of technology in households, but there were also differences such as the type of food that was eaten, and the way the houses were set up. 

On the final activity day, it was service day. This meant that we went to a school in the poorer part of the city and helped out to improve it. We worked all day to re-cement floors, paint walls, and clean the school. It felt very good to help out those in need by doing hands-on work, and it was nice to meet all the kids that went to the school. It was a truly inspiring experience and I enjoyed it very much. 

Attending the Round Square conference this year was incredible and a completely amazing opportunity for me and the rest of the group. It inspired me in so many ways and it was a truly valuable and inspiring experience. I took so many good lessons and new ideas away from my trip to Kenya. This trip helped me to realize the importance of service work and giving back to my community and those that are less privileged than me. It also gave me a new perspective on a lot of different matters by hearing the ideas and thoughts of so many other people from so many other places. It was definitely a trip that I will never forget and that has impacted me in so many positive ways.

Review of Round Square Pre-Conference Trip

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By: Oscar Gronros ’26

-Photo credit: Oscar Gronros ’26

This year Hebron Academy had six students travel to the Round Square International Conference. This conference was located in Nairobi Kenya and took place over the course of seven days. We took a three day pre-conference trip before the seven day conference for a total of ten days. The flight was a whopping 17 hours and when we touched down in Kenya we met up with two other schools from Toronto Canada.

The three day pre-conference trip was located in the Masai Mara. The Masai Mara is a massive national reserve. The entire park was constantly patrolled by officers to protect against poachers. Our van first traveled into the reserve to a hotel where we split up and headed to our respective hotel rooms. There was a slight mishap where my group’s key had been misplaced before it was given to us. We knew the general location of our hotel however we didn’t know the exact number. Therefore we were quite stranded until we could find a new key. Finally after we got a key we moved into our rooms however only for a minute before we had to switch again with another group. This switching went on and on for two days finally ending with all the girls in one room and the boys being split between two rooms.

-Photo credit: Mr. Tholen

After all that movement we were able to go on a safari. These safaris were incredible with more animals than I have ever seen in my life. The herds of gazelle and zebras covered entire hills to the point one couldn’t see any grass. We as well were able to see a few lions roaming looking for shade to protect themselves against the hot sun. These incredible experiences were only on the two to four hour safaris. On the second day we went on a massive eight hour safari. This safari had every animal I could think of. We got incredibly close to many animals and we were even less than ten feet away from a leopard. We first traveled for four hours through the plain seeing hundreds of different animals each just a little bit different than the one before it.

Then as we were reaching lunch time we reached the Mara River. This is the biggest river in Kenya being home to almost all of the crocodiles and hippopotamuses. At the river we stopped for a picnic with pre-made bags of food. There were so many small animals running around the picnic site and many monkeys. These monkeys were asking for trouble as they kept rushing up from behind someone in our group trying to get a little scrap of food. After our short picnic we loaded back into the vans where we traveled back to the hotel to pack our bags for the massive International Conference. The next day we all piled into the vans to travel to Brookhouse Schools for the Round Square International Conference.

Ballet-Slipper Pink

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By: Kate Dilworth ’25

*Background information: After reading Alice Walker’s short story, The Flowers, students in Ms. Waterman’s AP Language & Composition class were assigned to write about a memorable moment when they realized that their childhood was over. This is Kate Dilworth’s “And The Summer Was Over” essay entitled, Ballet-Slipper Pink.

-Photo credit: Kate Dilworth ’25

My grandparents had three sons, my father being the oldest. My father was thirty-one when he met my mother who was twenty-six at the time; Nine years later they got married and had me. When I was five I couldn’t wait to turn seven, at seven I couldn’t wait to turn ten. I couldn’t wait to grow up. At five I couldn’t understand the concept of death. I knew my parents would never leave me, and I would always go to sleep in my ballet-slipper pink room, with my parents asleep just on the other side of the wall. My parents would never leave me, they would always be just beyond the pink. 

As my wish came true and I turned fifteen, I realized that not only had I grown up but so did my parents. Over the ten years of my wish for maturity, my parents’ skin wrinkled, and their jet-black hair became sprinkled with salt. One day my mother would have me sit down next to her on the guest bed of my grandparents’ house two days after Christmas. Then she would ever so calmly tell me my father had prostate cancer. But it was so small I shouldn’t have to worry. He would stay on top of it.

I had been to countless funerals. Death was simply something that happened. I would put on a nice dress, ride in a silent car with my parents, and sit in a still church. The priest would say a few words, and the family would read their tear-stained speeches about their husband, brother, or son. Yet I had never been to the funeral of someone I truly knew, I couldn’t mourn the hole in my heart if it was never there to begin with. 

At sixteen I am sitting on the couch two weeks before the start of junior year. My father sits next to me. When I look at his face, I notice something. I have his eyes, his nose, the same straight black hair. I spent my entire life viewing him as immortal, the never-ending fire in his brain would never burn out. It’s what made him my father. Yet, he has to have surgery, they have to remove the prostate before the cancer spreads further. I remember the moment, I remember hearing only pure silence, I remember the feeling of my mother watching and listening from the kitchen island, my father’s face, his eyes, my eyes, our eyes looking at me, waiting for a reaction. I saw my parents as regular men and women, and I,  the perfect mix of both.

I went to bed that night in my room, the one next to my parents, but my ballet-slipper pink walls were painted white.