Author’s Note: Hi everyone, first of all, I’d like to apologize to the people who I told about my initial idea of this blog. I was going to use flower imagery while comparing a certain flower’s meaning to each person in our class. I at first tried to get everyone to list two characteristics about themselves and then I realized that AP students are too self-deprecating to actually give nice compliments about themselves. (And then I gave up) Then, my poetry (if this is considered to be poetry) didn’t exactly stay on track with what I wanted to do, so I went with the flow instead of trying to force this idea on the poem below. Anyways, I hope you enjoy what I wrote about our class and my journey through AP! (I realized that I ended up mostly giving much needed compliments to everyone near the end… so accept them! You guys are all too humble!) 🙂
My Days of AP
Grade 9: What am I getting myself into?
Imagine,
a student of fourteen years,
as nervous, as excited, as you were.
Walking into the room
of buzzing minds, unsung potential,
hidden intelligence.
Here,
the brilliance
of poetry seminars
shone.
My amazement, my astonishment, my fears
(The workload aah!)
In the summer,
the feverish hysteria of unfinished data sheets,
the discovery, the excitement, the hope
for a place to finally belong.
Grade 10 hits hard,
the abilities of my family group,
the plunge of arrogance,
the exposure, the experience.
The ambitions of Macbeth,
the chaos of the Monster,
the courage of Atticus.
I grew to love the smell of
ink and paper
even more.
Grade 11, the rawness of the soul,
the heart, the mind.
Self discovery and the facades of Dorian Gray.
Ophelia’s insanity swirls
through the pages,
as Gatsby tries to grasp the green light.
My Heart falters a bit.
Can I do this again next year?
Grade 12: Wow, I think I actually have friends now.
The beauty of Mariam and Laila,
bonds the splendid cracks
of our souls.
Orleanna Price, a mother’s drawn out love,
and Adah Price, the leftover twin,
both tug at my heartstrings.
Robert’s innocence and Hagar’s pride
reveals humanity’s harshness.
Through Almagor’s voice,
I can hear the children
of Israel and Palestine cry in pain.
Blanche, the ultimate character who (hopefully)
saved me in my diploma,
and the development of this cursed
love-hate relationship
with a certain Painted Door.
A reflection needs to be done;
this AP room that Hunni has created,
I devote
much love, appreciation,
and gratitude.
Past the literature,
the projects,
the blogs,
I finally see
that there are people just like me.
In a day of AP,
I see
the care in my
Family Group;
the humanity of Hefseeba,
the open-mindedness of Natalie,
Jieo’s French that leaves everyone breathless.
(And makes Hunnisett drool)
I see
the capabilities of
Liz, Claire, and Elissa,
three roses abloom,
pink with their talent
in writing and acting.
I see
the serendipity of Tim’s transformation,
the spontaneous brilliance of Liam’s ideas,
the mastered level of Muhammad’s procrastination.
(Hunnisett: *coughs*)
I see
the positive energy of Ibukun,
spreading and brightening the room,
along with Judy’s warmth and affability,
Mia’s charm brings laughter to the crowd.
I see
Preet’s dedication – hardworking and meticulous,
the smoothness of Nimrat’s words,
and the cleverness of Abhay’s interpretations.
I see
Shyla’s wisdom and elegance,
Hijab’s aptitude to bring others
to tears of naked emotions,
and there comes a point in AP,
when it dawns on you,
that Tarannum actually cares about people.
I see
the nearing ends of
my days of AP,
I am forever in your debt;
I will miss the fear and eagerness
of Socratic Discussions,
the enthusiasm of the class,
this wondrous sense
of belonging,
but,
I will never forget
my love
for literature.
Filled with my unmasked emotions,
I cry,
bittersweet tears.
Goodbye.
Farewell.
Adieu.
Project Learning Tree. January 17, 2019. Retrieved from https://playground-magazine.com/2013/10/project-learning-tree/
Smiley, D. (n.d.). Departure Painting by DeanandEliska Smiley. Retrieved from https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-departure/913866/3306273/view
Kelley, I love you and I love this. It is 1:25 am and I just finished doing some work and I couldn’t help but read this piece and feel my heart grow. (I might just embrace my inner sap and do another post on top of my free choice now. More work, yay!) but thank you so much for capturing the essence of this classroom and the essence of the people who make it great. thank you Kelley for your sweet voice and equally as sweet words. love, nimrat
Aww, thank you Nimrat for reading this at 1:25 in the morning, and I appreciate your kind words!
Much love,
Kelley
Kelley,
You give me too much credit.
<3
Tarannum
Tarannum,
That heart proves my point.
<3
Kelley
*KELLEY. You really just made me shed a couple of tears. This was so clever: not only did you beautifully encapsulate these amazing years but you found a way to make everything come full circle – the way you wrapped together the novels we studied with the year we studied them, how you included everyone in our class, and overall how you were able to so elegantly, while not loosing your distinct voice, display the fundamental parts of this class that we all adore so much.
I love, love, love you.
And I love, love, love this.
Thank you. <3
JUDY!
Thank you for reading my final piece! I wanted to “encapsulate” all these years in my final blog since it’s the last thing people will read. Thanks so much for your comment!
<3
Much love,
Kelley
P. S. Don’t cry!
Kelley,
I first read this masterpiece of a blog at about 3 AM in the morning, and let me tell you, I could hardly read the words for the tears in my eyes. I couldn’t help but notice, however, that you yourself were not included in the part where you spoke of everyone’s truth –
what on Earth would AP be without you? We would all be so utterly dismal – especially Jieo – for who else can extend critical essay deadlines from Ms. Hunnisett as competently as you? 😉
Kelley, you procure such an atmosphere of grace and serenity whenever you allow the notes to descend so elegantly from your lips; your silence is as weighty as your words. The blossoms of your being draw in even the hastiest, most impatient of travelers, for your beauty and intelligence shouldn’t be missed for the world. You were the one that dragged my butt into the AP classroom when I was on the cusp of leaving; you were the one I first grew close to as we huddled together in awe of Hope and Ziyana. I’ve been so incredibly blessed to call you one of my close friends, from the times we spent making bomb Christmas displays in Business, or exchanging looks of utter disbelief at the weirdos we’re friends with at lunch, escape rooms and conversations of boiler room deities and the deep existential crises induced in us through Physics and Chemistry. It makes me so happy to realize that we are just beginning to bloom – the best is yet to come, Kelley, and I can’t wait to witness the exquisite individual I have always believed in believe in herself too.
I love you. Thank you.
Hijab
Dearest Hijab,
Thank you so much for your entire existence. Please, though, go to sleep and stop procrastinating! (Although that’d be a bit tough) And at this point, I think I’ve unintentionally made several people tear up. For myself, I can say that I’m part of the poem in its entirety. 😉 (And hopefully there comes another person who can sway Hunni’s deadlines next year!)
Hijab, anything that comes out of your lips is insightful, brilliant, and intelligent. You are such a humble person and I really appreciate that about you. I am so, so happy that I dragged you into AP; it was so fulfilling to see you interact with people, see the growth of your writing, and become one of your closest friends. I am so grateful for all the memories that you listed above (and I can’t describe them any better than you already did). I am so blessed to know you, and also excited to see your blossoming!
I love you. Thank you.
Kelley
P. S. Jieo only complains about my annoying existence, so I’m sure he won’t miss me! 😉
What a beautiful tribute! I’ll use this to inspire students for AP!!! Love you my angel.
Hunnisett, thank you so much for all these years.
Much love,
Kelley
This is AMAZING Kelley!!!
– Hefseeba 🙂
Thanks Hefseeba! <3
I may be nearly a month late, but I just wanted to swing in and say how much of a smile this brought to my face to read – such a pleasure to hear that Muhammad is still a god at procrastination, Ibukun still brings endless joy to everyone she meets, and, of course, how heart-warming your writing is to read, Kelley. There’s a small part of you that you leave in that classroom after you move on from the walls of AP 10 until 30 – small parts that you have beautifully highlighted in all your classmates and yourself. This brought a massive smile to my face – thank you for this wonderful little farewell.
Here’s to the future!
~A.Q
Thanks so much for reading and commenting Areeb! I’m happy that I was able to bring a smile to your face!
Best Regards,
Kelley