{"id":744,"date":"2017-10-24T14:49:39","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T14:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/?p=744"},"modified":"2018-07-24T14:52:08","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T14:52:08","slug":"editorial-still-working-on-our-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/2017\/10\/24\/editorial-still-working-on-our-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Editorial: Still Working on Our Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rachel Chen<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I used to believe that if I didn\u2019t read the end of a book, it never ended. Like if I didn\u2019t finish <\/span>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>Mockingjay<\/span><\/i>, Sirius and Rue would go on existing perpetually, even aging and dying naturally. (Spoiler alert!) The characters would find a way out, and somehow everyone would live happily ever after. Or at least, you know, live.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a bit like how I feel right now, at the start of my senior year. In the books of our high school lives, we\u2019re hovering right on the precipice of the grand finale. There\u2019s so much anxiety and suspense in the air, but there\u2019s also this great sense of potential and excitement for the ending\u2014it\u2019s a rollercoaster ride and I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m screaming out of fear or exhilaration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the thing is, I\u2019m not scared of what I\u2019ll find at the bottom. I know my friends and family will be there to catch me and cheer, just like I know every single one of us will go on to be happy, do great things, and change the world. It\u2019s not the fear that gets me, but the anticipation. Where will I find myself when I open my eyes and catch my breath? <\/span><\/p>\n

I honestly have no idea. <\/span><\/p>\n

All I know is that our stories are shaped by the relationships we\u2019ve formed, the roles we play, and the duties we owe. Every failed side quest and hilarious mishap has pushed us along; every Forbidden Forest explored and boss battle conquered has moved our character development and story arch. All this rising action leads up to an inevitable conclusion\u2014and once we know that conclusion, we can never change it again. And that terrifies me. What if I close this chapter of my life regretting that I didn\u2019t finish strong? <\/span><\/p>\n

So I guess what I\u2019ve realized is that now is a good time to evaluate the narrative I\u2019ve written at Pingry and decide how I want it to end. Fortunately, it\u2019s not yet set in stone. My fellow seniors and I are still writing; we still have a say in how our Pingry adventures wrap up. \u00a0It\u2019s not too late to change some storylines\u2014to fix that friendship you lost in Chapter Five, say, or to tie up the loose ends from that misplaced romantic subplot. Certainly, it\u2019s time to call upon that powerful wizard ally for advice and support. God only knows that we need all the help we can get in these next few months.<\/span><\/p>\n

To my underclassmen too, all of you familiar faces I love and unfamiliar faces I can\u2019t wait to meet: Now is the time to write. Write the story you want to read, the adventure you want to tell. Commit yourself to being the best and bravest version of yourself now, because all your sweat and tears add up. You will thank yourself for it later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now my question to you is: How do you want your story to end? And what are you going to do about it? <\/span><\/p>\n

There will come a moment when we\u2019ve all finished our journeys. We\u2019ll turn the final page, close the cover, and mull over the endings we discovered. We\u2019ll either set it on the shelf or burn it, depending on how you feel about your narrative. But either way we can\u2019t go back to reread it, to experience it again for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

That moment will inevitably arrive\u2014after all, despite my denial, Sirius and Rue still die in their respective books\u2014so let\u2019s focus on the present, while we still hold the pen in our hands. Let\u2019s write our stories as they\u2019re being told. Let\u2019s change the endings while we still can. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rachel Chen I used to believe that if I didn\u2019t read the end of a book, it never ended. Like if I didn\u2019t finish Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or Mockingjay, Sirius and Rue would go on existing perpetually, even aging and dying naturally. (Spoiler alert!) The characters would find a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[14,13],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-editorial","tag-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":745,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.pingry.org\/record\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}