While we spend our days at Friends learning calculus, applying to college, and diving into complex issues like microaggressions, it’s easy to forget that there’s a very different side to school. Friends is a K-12 institution; any lifer can nostalgically recall their early days at Friends, before homework replaced read-aloud and desks took the place of the criss-cross-applesauce circle. When second graders were “big kids,” and high school seemed unfathomable. Unfortunately, Kindergarteners rarely get a chance to interact with Friends’ oldest students outside of the annual singing of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Luckily, we were able to speak with a few students from Mirtha Martinez’s Kindergarten class about their hopes, predictions, and questions regarding their futures at Friends and beyond.
Elise dreamed big, saying she wants to be a queen when she’s older, as queens get to “boss the family around.” She expects not only to stay at Friends until her senior year, but also thinks she might work here, speculating, “I want to work here… maybe I’ll be principal.” She added that “I have a friend that’s a grownup here who’s the principal.” She refused to clarify whether or not she was referring to Bo Lauder. She confessed that “I don’t know anything about high school,” and wondered, “Do they go outside of the classroom by theirselves?”
Vincent has more modest hopes for his future; he said he wants to be a dad when he’s older “because I love my dad.” He loves coming to school and playing with his friends.
Luca admitted he has never seen a 12th Grader before, but he still has high hopes for his future as a high school student. Luca’s favorite thing about Friends is learning about science; he hopes to be a scientist himself someday, citing his love for animals as the root of his career plans. That’s not all Luca’s looking forward to: he pointed out that he’s often seen his older siblings reading, a skill that he looks forward to learning. Until then, he is content spending his free time at the playground, noting, “I slide down the slides.”
Emma also sees a future for herself in STEM. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up, explaining, “I like being doctors because they help people.” She is excited to be a senior, as she looks forward to “being big.” When we asked just how big she thinks the seniors are, she estimated 12 feet tall. Interestingly, Vincent raised his hand far above his head and gave the same approximation during his interview. Elise, the future queen of Friends Seminary, thought those estimates of the average senior height were slightly exaggerated, and guessed 11 feet rather than 12.
At the opposite end of the Friends experience is current Senior Harry Robbins, who, 11 years removed from the second floor classrooms, will be continuing his studies at Syracuse University next year. Harry hopes to be a sports commentator or journalist, and, like Vincent, enjoys hanging out with his friends. He remembers feeling excited to go out for lunch coming into high school, and he says that the privilege did not disappoint. Unfortunately Harry came a little short of the Kindergarteners’ 12-11 foot height estimates, standing at a more modest five foot nine.
The class of 2023 has been in high school nearly as long as the class of 2035 has been alive. Naturally, some things change over the 13 years between first day tears and graduation. Harry can read. His days on the playground slides are behind him, and he does, in fact, go outside of the classroom all by himself. We still like to spend time with our friends, and we still all hold on to some dreams for the future, though most of us have cast aside any royal ambitions (sorry, Elise). We walk the same halls just a little taller, and we get the same feeling when we’re around our friends or favorite teachers. Maybe some things never really change.