Final Words Casco Bay High School Class of 2009 Casco Bay High School Final Word 2009 (first graduating class) Table of Contents Preface 4 Hazel Abramson 33 Ali Leighton 5 Adrienne Abromowitz 34 Michael Leighton 6 Ekhlas Ahmed 35 Alex Lyscars 7 Courtney Amergian 37 Susan McCray 8 Marcy Angelo 39 Kiersten McDonald 9 Olivia Barber 39 Elliot McInnis 11 Marley Bergeron 40 Kristina Madjerac 11 Jolene Bouffier 41 Marija Matulyte 13 Chaney Burlin 42 Anna Muri 14 Tara Clark 43 Colin Myers 15 Myles Crawford 44 William Nelligan 16 Joel Daley 46 James Nguyen 17 Sage Dance-Wright 47 Johnna Ossie 18 Kate Farsaci 48 Zain Karim Padamsee 19 Molly Garson 49 Christine Peddle 20 Peter Griffin 50 Rebecca Peter 21 Bennett Gross 51 Elijah Putnam Riley 22 Dominic Grosso 52 Zoey Rausch 23 Jesse Heasly 54 Jennifer Romero 24 Chelsea Heath 55 Robin Ryder 25 Allie Heller 55 Colin Shepard 26 Dri Huber 56 Zachary Shirland 27 Abdiraham Ibrahim 57 Nathalie Simon 29 Kevin Kirby 58 Regina Stait 30 Lila Kole-Berlingieri 59 Isabel Turk 31 Selby Landmann 59 Sam Underwood 32 Adrian LaSala 60 Zachary Walker Preface The 2009 class of Casco Bay High School were pioneers. They started a school, traveled to West Virginia to build houses for Habitat for Humanity, created a professional show for a gallery, wrote public policy, not to mention all the individualized projects they have embarked on. So, how could they share a slice of that experience? It was a daunting task but in the last weeks of their high school careers, we asked them to write their “final words.” These words would serve as a farewell to the school, their community and as a keepsake of all they take with them on their next journey. In their Final Words, the students aimed to capture this moment of transition, reflection, and gratitude. Each student was asked to address the following essential questions: What do I care about most? How have the past four years shaped me and my passions? What do I believe? Who am I now? Why am I ready to graduate? Over the course of the week of May 18th, we spent each morning witnessing, affirming and applauding the Final Words of these founding students. After each student read their piece, a support speaker (an adviser, a friend, a family member) would rise in the audience and speak in support of the graduation of this person they had known and loved. We had not planned to collect this writing for a book. These pieces were written as performance pieces – not meant for publication. Yet, as has happened so many times over the last four years, the experience far exceeded what we had imagined. While we knew we could not fully capture the intensity of those mornings, we did feel that the essence of the humility, passion, community crafted in these Final Words had to be gathered and preserved. To respect the privacy of all individuals, we ask that none of these Final Words be copied or used without the permission of the author. ∞ Hazel Abramson I believe that it only takes one person to change your life forever. When I was four years old, I was taken from my addict parents and placed into a group home. From this group home I would be placed into six different foster homes before I would end with my adoptive mother at age twelve. When I was seven I was in a foster home with eight adopted children: I was the only foster child left in the family. I was angry. I was an ashamed and deeply depressed child. I would often cry for hours wondering why nobody wanted to adopt me, or, even better, why couldn’t my mother take me back. I was heading down a dark road and believed no one cared about me, so why should I care about others? When in foster care you have social workers who are suppose to represent you and make decisions for you, like where you live and go to school, and if you can go out of state, etc. I had had three social workers prior to Heather. The other social workers I had I could barely remember because I saw them maybe twice a year, and they were always changing. So when I first met Heather I thought nothing good about her; she was just another person I had to talk to about things I did not want to talk about ever. I soon realized Heather was different. I saw her at least once a month and she talked to me in a different way than anyone ever had, and never pressured me to say anything I didn’t want to, or try to put words in my mouth. One day, a couple months after meeting Heather, I was informed I had to yet again go to another foster home. I was mortified; why did no one want me? I remember I started crying, and I cried the whole time Heather was driving me to my new foster home. Then Heather asked me one question that forever changed my life. She asked me something that had been haunting me forever and nobody had ever cared to know before. It was my deepest secret and I told her. I still have only told a few very close people in my life this secret. I still don’t know why today I told her what I did, but I believe that it helped save me: she made me believe that there was someone out there who cared about me. She changed my entire outlook on life at that time, and still to this day she is someone I know and can always go to to be listened to and cared about. She helped me learn how to love and how to listen. She has helped me make every big decision in my life, without telling me what to do. She showed me that not everyone in life is bad. She showed me people care. I hope to become a social worker. I want to change people's lives and show them life is not all bad like Heather did for me. I have come to this realization at my time here at Casco Bay. Even if I change just one person's life, it's worth it. ∞ 4 Adrienne Abromowitz I stand here struggling to find words to explain what I’ve learned over these last four year. The words I have picked sound a bit cliché or inarticulate, and I apologize, but I said it the best I could. I guess it all started with Outward Bound, at the time I had no idea the impact Outward Bound had on me. I discovered two of my life’s most important lessons. Even though it was my freshman year, and I barely knew my classmates I still had a really great time on the Outward Bound trip we took together. The instructors encouraged me to push myself out of my comfort zone often. My crew didn’t always take it well, especially after the morning dips and the morning runs, but it really tested my patience and perseverance. For instance, I am terrified of heights so naturally I dislike rock climbing. On Outward Bound this was one of the activities the groups did together. I remember taking one look at the rock I was about to climb and thinking, “I can climb this wall.” With that confidence I completed the first rock wall of my entire life; it was an ecstatic feeling and I was proud. After climbing that rock I really discovered the incredible power of pushing myself to my fullest ability. So really that rock was the beginning of many lessons I have learned around confidence. Another challenge my crew faced on Outward Bound was the zip line. This zip line was immense. It stretched from the top of a rocky hill over a wide river and to the other side. When I saw the zip line from the top I knew I wouldn’t be able to ride it, so I didn’t. I still have some regret, but I believe with conviction I would not go back in time to change my mind. I knew at that moment that it was something I couldn’t do, this discovery was the other lesson I learned on Outward Bound. Accepting the fact that I couldn't get on the zip line gave me strength because it helped me know my personal limits more intimately. These two lessons that I learned are basically like toothpaste and orange juice, but they still delicately fit together even though they sound contradicting, and I really noticed their connection when I went to summer camp. I had always had problems staying away from home so I decided to practice and go to a summer camp before Junior Journey, which was daunting to me at the time. Unfortunately that didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. The camp was an hour and a half away and after the long drive up, my family helped me unpack my stuff and left. About four hours later I went to the camp’s main office and asked the secretary to call my parents to take me home. The after effects of this experience are still with me today; I still find it humiliating, but I’ve lived with it just like anything else. After going to summer camp and comparing it with my Outward Bound experience I came to a weightlifting realization.