Senior Maureen Barrett Reflects on First Six Weeks of School
"The deepest of all desires for knowledge is the desire to know what the world is for and what we are for."
-GK Chesterton
People always look puzzled when I tell them that I transferred schools just for my senior year. Who intentionally transfers their senior year of high school? After these first weeks at Chesterton Academy, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t transfer to a school like this. My time at this school has been unlike anything I have ever experienced, and I mean that in the best way possible. I have never been a part of a school that is so rigorous yet rewarding academically or has a community with such a strong quality of character; it is just refreshing.
I care a lot more about school now than I have in quite some time, and it feels good. I have always enjoyed school and put in a fair bit of effort, but I didn’t truly feel motivated until I came to Chesterton. This school has helped me better understand how everything fits together for a greater end. We have talked about the relationship between faith and reason in just about every one of my classes. It is easy to see that everything we learn has a clear purpose. The teachers are very passionate about what they are teaching, which makes it really easy to get invested in what we are learning. So far, I have really liked my history class debate about the Crusades (which my team won), pointing out constellations in astronomy, our discussions in philosophy, and reading Dante’s Inferno in literature.
Although it has only been a few weeks, it feels like I have been at Chesterton for much longer. Because the school is so small compared to what I was used to, I feel like I know everyone better than I expected to at this point. We come together as classmates in many different ways every day from class discussions to sports to daily prayers throughout the day. I think we all enjoy each other’s company. Also, we have gotten to know our teachers pretty well, which I always think makes school a little more fun. The teachers will play ultimate with us during lyceum or tell us about things like their favorite movies or their thoughts on Christmas music. I think everyone sees what a special community we get to be a part of and really relishes that. We get to be the first people to partake in school traditions that will hopefully carry on for many years to come - which is pretty cool, if you ask me. We are the start of the Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
