That Wasn’t in the Brentwood Pamphlet!

10 November 2011Rachael K

Some of us have a vague idea of what we’re getting ourselves into when we first pass through the Brentwood gates. Boarding school can have an air of mystery surrounding it, but we have some sort of inclination as to what we’re going to be doing: school and sports and arts and socializing. It’s not like we’re thrown blindly into the Brentwood river to sink or swim…usually. 

This statement, however, does contain some caveats.

Within our boarding school bubble, many students have encountered a myriad of challenges that hadn’t really been anticipated. Frankly, it’s more of a list of challenges: a long document of unanticipated hurdles. These new exposures were without any prior ‘heads up’, of course, because life would have been too easy had that been the case. No, we were forced to face these curve balls as inexperienced novices. 

We all tried to grow out of that title pretty quickly.

Learning to fold clothes, for instance, is an example of such a challenge; budgeting money, and sharing amongst new house mates are others. Some adversities, however, stand out more obnoxiously than others. After just the first few months of Brentwood life, new students especially have had to cope with these new, and sometimes strange, sets of demands. 

Kudos to them for taking everything in stride. 

1.) Traveling by Oneself
Initially, when students embark on the boarding school journey, they arrive with their parents, siblings, and perhaps even grandparents in tow. Once our crew of relatives leaves, however, students are left to brave Brentwood’s orientation week and half term. Finally, after our first few weeks, midterm break opens the school gates, and freedom greets students after the first big stretch of Brentwood life. Here is one time at school where students are confronted with a challenge they may not have taken into consideration when they first decided to attend school: the process of getting home. For day students and Islanders, traveling home really isn’t a problem, but for students who have to take a plane to finally reach their vacation solace, this first travel trip is more than a little stressful. Getting to the Victoria Airport is the easy part – the school provides transportation for that – but navigating through airports, and boarding planes all by one’s lonesome? Without one’s parents there to hold a passport, lead the way through the crowds of rowdy people, and brave the ‘seat-snatchers’ who try to casually steal your coveted window seat inside the plane?

An airport can be a daunting, yet necessary evil. 

Through practice, and help from the handy-dandy uniformed airport staff, however, the fear that is conjured from traveling by yourself isn’t quite so frightening. Maybe a student even relates exploring airports to a new adventure…albeit a brief, time-crunched one. Inadvertently, Brentwood teaches its students to become independent travelers. Don’t you think this is something that should at least be mentioned in the recruiting portion of the school’s website? 

2.) Grocery Shopping on Your Own 
It is common knowledge that, at one point or another during the school year, students catch a case of the ‘munchies’, with the only available cure located ‘Uptown’ at the grocery store. It is here, however, that another challenge is set before students: “Should I go for the healthy pine nuts, or skip right to the chip aisle?” It has been scientifically proven by high school and university students worldwide that ‘Munchies’ go away faster with the ‘noming’ (Brentwood term) of junk food, but no one wants a case of the ‘Freshman Fifteen’ Love-handles. So, to escape from the terror of fifteen extra pounds, being the good children we are, students opt for the vegetables…cough. Then, with the poise and grace of any adult, students then proceed to the Thrifty’s checkout line, where many use the brand new debit cards their parents have kindly bestowed on them. Using said card for the first time may be a confusing process at first, but in your Brentwood experience, it seems that students get a feel for their new cards quite quickly, tackling the ‘how do I work this?’ problem with incredible efficiency. So rest assured, parents, your kids now know how to spend money in a whole new way. Aren’t you pleased?

3.) Folding Clothes
Number Ones ARE mentioned frequently here at Brentwood, as the entire process seems to be a true cornerstone to the boarding school community – remove number ones, and complete chaos would ensue…at least, that’s what our houseparents tell us before we go to sleep at night. Completely nightmare worthy. But after students have finished their dusting, the making of their beds, and the vacuuming, they are still left with one seemingly overwhelming challenge: the sorting and folding of all the clothes that have accumulated in their respective closets and drawers that week. The advice for this challenge? Establish a technique, whether this procedure develops through tireless hours of practice, or through the bribery of a fellow, super-folding boarder. Nonetheless, the attempt to conquer this challenge is one that can still lead to devastation on inspection days. Resounding cries of “Darn you, t-shirts, why weren’t you pleated properly?!” echo off the walls in the boarding houses more than once on Saturday mornings. A universal remedy for this outburst problem has yet to be discovered. 

So, while many students anticipate what some aspects of boarding will be like, there are a few hurdles that seemingly come out of nowhere. These three topics mentioned above, however, are life skills that students would have confronted eventually, so Brentwood’s really just been the impetus that has pushed us off of our docks. Who thought that as students embarked on a journey to pursue education, they would become expert travelers, spenders, and folders as well?

They should really add a few more disclaimers in that Brentwood pamphlet, don’t you think?