Four Great Years

10 June 2014Shawn H, Whittall ‘14, Photos by Sarah H, Alex '14 & Frank Z, Privett '14

I was asked to talk about the experiences and memories I had in Whittall House for the past four years. I just want to start out by mentioning that in Grade 9 there were 10 of us new Grade 9s in Whittall, 7 boarders and 3 day students, and we are all still here. That’s pretty impressive. I think that speaks volumes on how close we are as a group because I believe every one of us has enjoyed our time here with each other. My first memory of Brentwood was Orientation. I came to Brentwood alone so I was pretty nervous to begin with and it didn’t help when Hayden, my new roommate, greeted me when I entered my room and I was pretty intimidated by him since he was a giant compared to most people, which is part of the reason he was nicknamed Lennie. The other reasons I won’t get into now, but he turned out to be an okay guy. I remember a lot of things during my Grade 9 year such as being addicted to ping pong. Harrison and I would play ping pong religiously, spending every second of our free time having these insane rallies, thinking we were so good at the sport. Another fond moment I had was participating in Airband that year. I was pretty much forced to be a part of it since everyone else was away or busy and I recall the four of us, Jeen, Nic, Reilly and I, listening intently to Aidan as he tried his best to choreograph the dance, while we frantically tried to memorize the moves one day before the competition. Surprisingly, we won our category dancing to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, and I believe that is when Jeen was awarded the nickname “Mean Jeen the Dancing Machine.” In Grade 9 we hung out in either Donovan or Nic’s room almost everyday, whether it was to watch a movie together or just to chat and talk about random things. There were good times we had together but we went through some rough times also. I’m sure every one of us had a big argument or fight with one another at some time for some ridiculous reason. The most memorable fight I had occurred a long time ago and I can’t even remember the cause of it now. It was the one where I bit Hayden’s arm, (which I claimed was self-defense) to try and stop him from choking me from behind. But, like every case, everyone would sort out their differences together, as none of us could stay mad at each other for very long. We used to do everything together back then and we still do now. We all go to dinner together, we throw a rugby ball around together, and some of us even got suspended together. Lots of things have changed since the first day of Orientation, mostly for the better. Kelly used to look like a bowling ball, but look at him now. Reilly has also grown so much that he might even be taller than I am today. Some things still haven’t changed though. Melck is still knowledgeable of everything that comes up in a conversation. I still have the same stupid bowl cut hair I’ve had since grade 9. And I know some things will never change like how every one of us will always call each other a friend. Finally, I just want to say thank you to all you Whittall guys, and of course, to Mr. Gage, for making these past four years so remarkable and so unforgettable for me. Thank you. Shawn H, Whittall ‘14

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