The Lifer’s Dinner

18 May 2011Indre S

We were sentenced to five years. Through each class, each fine art, each sign in, and each prep, we endured. With each dance, each open house, each Showcase game, each sunny day, we thrived. Paradoxically, a paradise with enforcement. A heaven with rules. A party with a curfew. Brentwood was our home for the past five years.

We are the proud, the few, the lifers. Five years ago a small group of eighth graders began their Brentwood journey, and now an even smaller few remain. This week, the Class of 2011 will be celebrating with the graduation ball in Vancouver. However, an earlier celebration was held for those who have committed a full five years of their lives to Brentwood. The “Lifers’ Dinner” was held on Tuesday evening at the Quamichan Inn, and the festivities truly provided a walk down memory lane.

The small group of students, almost outnumbered by teachers present, reunited at the beginning of the evening. Yes, most people by now have lost their braces, shyness, and have hopefully become more mature, but the same grade-eight glimmer was present throughout the night. The three course meal provided an ice-breaker, as a gathering such as this hadn’t happened for five years. But once the food was gone, the conversation ignited, and the smiles spread, it was time for the toasts.

Mr. Tate, an admired teacher, began with a toast to the lifers, and was soon followed by Stuart W, with his reply of appreciation for the teachers (putting up with this group for five years was by no means an easy task). Then, from each of the boarding houses, one lifer spoke of their experience, and what five years in their house meant to them. The inspiring speeches made us truly appreciate the opportunity given to spend five years at Brentwood, for reflection brings light to the best of memories.

As one of the twenty-six Grad ’11 lifers, I was privileged to experience not only this dinner, but the past five years at Brentwood with a group of diverse and inspirational people. This evening was a prelude to the goodbyes; the first of the tears streamed down cheeks, foreshadowing what is to come. With fewer than 40 days left until the final adieus are in order, the lifers’ dinner was the perfect reminder of how experiences, places, and people can change one for the better. I would not be who I am today without the help and influence of my peers, and I thank them for that. Over the past five years we have grown together and apart, with different passions and interests connecting to and distancing us from each other. But I have no regrets, since the bond of the lifers is strong; this whole time we’ve been growing in different directions, but this whole time we’ve been growing together.

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