It was an adventure, wasn't it?

People will tell you that the four years they spent in high school were some of the best years of their lives. While I have met a ton of wonderful people, done some pretty great things, and made some amazing memories, I have a feeling that when I look back on my time spent at Millbrook, I will not refer to it as the "best time of my life". That might come as surprising to some, but I believe that there is so much left to experience and learn about outside of high school (sort of like "the best is yet to come"). My freshman English teacher Mrs. Dier once compared high school to a box where you experience a lot, but can get caught up in it all, and don't realize that waiting just beyond that little box are so many more exciting opportunities.

It's been rough getting to where I am now, not gonna lie. Through the good times and the bad, the laughs and the tears, I've learned and grown up so much from my defiant, know-it-all freshman self. When I joined the IB program, it was a major turning point for me. I have to admit, at first, I was kind of nervous and unsure if it was the right decision for me. I found comfort in the option that if it came down to it, I could technically drop out if I acted quick enough in those first few weeks. Looking back on everything now, I wouldn't change my decision to do IB and I'm glad I didn't drop out. Sure, there were times when it seemed like everything was due in the same week or when I had to pass up on plans just so I could get as close to done as I could with my homework, but the bonds and memories I've created through it all makes everything worth it. I've learned a lot from my freshman and sophomore year, but it was my junior and senior year that I realized how far I've come. I've become so much more comfortable with who I am, and I've become so much more solid in my beliefs, but also open to new ideas and perspectives.

It was a long, exhausting, roller coaster of an adventure, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. From the all-nighters spent studying to the crazy fun times with friends, these past four years have formed me into the person I am today. I'm so excited to continue to learn and grow in the future, especially during the time I'll be spending at ASU starting in the fall. I want to thank everyone who has been a part of my high school experience and want to wish everyone good luck with their next adventures!

Witty Whitman

On page 903 of Walt Whitman's notebook, I noticed many addresses of soldiers and friends (I assume), along with a stamp from the Library of Congress. On page 925, I can make out "Brochure / Two characters as of a dialogue between A. L(incoln?) and M... / -as in a dream / or better / Lessons for a President elect / Dialogue between W.W. (?) and "President elect". This page includes many question marks and scratchy writing as if the idea of a dialogue between President Lincoln and himself (possibly?) just popped into Whitman's head and he wanted to right it down quickly so he wouldn't forget it. The next few pages in the notebook are written landscape rather than portrait and appear to be the early beginnings of a poem. It's difficult to read his writing with a lot of the words crossed out and a lot of words added in. In my mind, this messy writing shows that Whitman was very intellectual and cared about perfecting each line in his poems. Because his notebooks are filled with everything from addresses to rough drafts of poems, it shows that Whitman didn't make writing poetry a focus of his, but more a way of expression and inner thoughts. The last few selected pages out of Whitman's notebook are mostly side portraits of men done in pencil. There is also a sketch of what appears to be a harp. I'm guessing these sketches helped Whitman envision and create characters he would use in his poems.Overall, Whitman seemed very interested in politics and religion. He brings up justice and reasoning and uses these to jump between the political aspect of things as well as the religious aspect.

After reading "Disunion: Inside Walt Whitman's Notebook" in The New York Times, I understand that Whitman used to almost watch for Lincoln sometimes, and on one occasion of "watching", Lincoln bowed slightly to acknowledge him. After that event occurred, Whitman began writing their imagined conversation. I think this shows how creative Whitman is. According to the article, I was correct with my assumption that Whitman was brainstorming a brochure of dialogues between himself and Abraham Lincoln. In the look-through of Whitman's notebook, it states that this brochure was never published, which could possibly reveal that Whitman had big ambitions, but didn't always follow through with them. The article states that the first page that Whitman begins writing about Lincoln could be the start of a complex allegory of the Civil War that will continue for years ahead. A theme that I didn't pick up on in Whitman's notebook that is mentioned in the article are his thoughts on "the political and philosophical divide that was splitting apart his beloved nation". Scrolling through the article made me realize how unclear Whitman was in his notebooks, which brings up the question of whether or not he wanted his notebooks to be published. Whitman focused on describing what life was like during the Civil War by using the metaphor of a storm-tossed ship on the ocean.