Mercersburg is full of tradition; you can see it in the stained glass windows of the Edward's Room or on the lawn of the graduation platform. The list goes on, but when I put tradition and Mercersburg together, hands down, the first thing I think of is the week of Irving-Marshall competitions.
This ritual is older than the school itself. Back in the day, the Washington Irving Literary Society and the John Marshall Literary Society duked it out annually with a team debate. Whoever won got bragging rights for a year and since then the tradition has been in full practice. But the debate wasn't enough, and in the 60's Irving vs. Marshall sports competitions were introduced into the rivalry. Irving's mascot is the red and white Pig, and the Marshall mascot is the blue and yellow Outlaw. The debate evolved into a speaking contest, Declamation, and five declamers from each society present their pieces at the end of the week. Whoever has the most points from the sporting events and declamation wins, pretty simple.
Team spirit combined with eager excitement of the upcoming spring break crank up the energy of all the students. This week is a godsend to us. Half day classes, yeeeeeeha! Intense competition and cheering. And finally a big dance at the end of the week! In my opinion it's a genius way to end the winter term. In the afternoon after the morning classes, almost everyone migrates to the gym to be a part of or cheer for there society during the sporting events. Most of the winter sports are played (along with some other games), and only by people who didn't play them the past term can compete. For example, a basketball player wouldn't be allowed to play basketball for their society, but could have a go at anything else. My personal favorite sport to watch is the girls wrestling, ha...aka, all out catfights (with a ref, of course). Technic doesn't exist at all, just girls brawling all out fueled by will power and spirit. Irving-Marshall unites the community very well, even if it technically divides us down the middle. By the end of the week, everyone comes together with a better feeling of family.
I'm getting pretty excited just describing it. Gotta go to swim practice...yep, I'm swimming for Marshall. I'll keep ya posted how the competitions unravel. GO MARSHALL!
On Sunday, February 11, after our 2 o'clock showing, the cast of Grease said goodbye to Greased Lightning and I said goodbye to my final mainstage Mercersburg Production. I honestly enjoyed all aspects of this musical produciton, whether I was singing, learning choreography, practicing with the cast, or working on my character. I played Rizzo, and although she is as far from my natural personality as possible, I dove into the role with gusto, and i'm a bit sad to let her go. Through a tough and interesting character like Rizzo, I was able to do crazy things that i'd never attempt in my life. For example- I'd never scream obsenities at someone and procede to tackle them on a bench, and I would never drink and smoke at a pajama party, and I'd never be in an unfortunate predicament like Rizzo's towards the end of the play. At the beginning of practices back in November, it was difficult for me to fully commit to Rizzo, but over time Rizzo grew, and I think I did as well.
What's the reason to keep going, to challenge ourselves, to dig deeper than we've ever done before? To accomplish. To win. To survive. Reaching a goal is the most satisfying thing to me; without standards or challenges, life would not be complete. I love a challenge, I strive to work harder than I ever had to before, so I descided last summer to register for the Harrisburg Marathon. I started running last year as a freshman and earned varsity letters in cross country and track and over the summer I chose to reach even higher, to run a marathon. I wanted to see how strong I was, I craved the challenge, the thrill, and even the pain I had coming for me, so I could cross that finish line. I put in the work, the 20 mile runs, the 70 mile weeks, the day in and day out training, and I saviored it. Each week I was that much stronger, physically and mentally, and finally, November 12 came...Race day. I had a successful season of cross country that fall (the marathon training didn't hurt) and I was well rested and excited coming into the race. My mom came up from NC and we drove to Harrisburg the day before. Race day was not the most friendly, with steady wind, rain, and chilly temperatures, but it didn't slow me down. I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of the months of preparation I endured. The first 20 miles went by great, I was on pace and I felt good. Then came mile 22...aka, hell. My legs were stiff and cold for running for about two and a half hours, but I kept on going. Mile 24...even more pain, but I didn't stop. The Harrisburg Marathon finishes on a little island, City Island, in the middle of the Susqehanna River, and I could see it from where I was. I ground out those last miles and finished in 3:22. 26.2 miles! Nothing was better than that feeling after the race...no, not my aching legs and back or my cold, numb hands-- it was the feeling of finishing, of accomplishment, the joy of reaching that destination. I look back on my experience from my marathon, the training, the race, the enduring of those last, cold, rotten miles, and I'm overtaken with pride. Everything I learned from all those relentless hours of training and that race have proved to be life long lessons- to never quit and to push aside self doubt. I find that I don't stress out as much over work and I can hone in on my focus. I'm not here saying to go out and run a marathon or climb Kilimanjaro, but to go out there and put in all you have into something you love that challenges you. You'll find there's a lot to gain when the work is done!
Hey! I am one of the last bloggers to start posting, but I had to start sometime, so I decided I would start today. My name is Armine (I go by my middle name even though this post is under Paola- which is my first name), and I am here to tell you a little bit about my daily life here at Mercersburg Academy. However, I think the best place to start would be by telling you a little about myself. I am a freshman here at Mercersburg (or M'burg, as we call it when we really don't want to write the whole thing out). I was born in Mexico, but now I live in Texas. This is me:
I participate in several activities in the school. I am in the girl's volleyball team, have swam for the past eight years (even though I'm taking a break this year), and will soon be in lacrosse. My friends here are great! I was suprised to find out how different this was from the "typical" high school, because when I got here, everyone was really nice to me. I was also suprised to find out how many different cultures congregated here on campus. Even though we are all from completely different cultures and backgrounds, my friends and I are incredibly close.
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