The Art of Losing Elizabeth Bishop, my favorite poet, once wrote that “the art of losing isn’t hard to master.” Recently I had the chance to experience the verity of these words when I abruptly lost an identity I had falsely adopted. Reminiscent of the difficulty I used to have deciding which Barbie to pretend to be with my little sister – how could I possibly choose between “Business Barbie,” “Doctor Barbie,” and “Teacher Barbie” when I wanted to explore...

Hackley’s Spanish Club I was thrilled when my school announced an educational trip to Cadiz, Spain for June of my sophomore year; subsequently, it looked like the trip would be canceled due to lack of student interest and high costs of travel. I decided to found the Spanish Club so that the trip could take place. We held meetings and bake sales to help raise awareness and money, and because of this it was able to proceed as originally...

I have never considered myself to be the average American girl. I had lived on three continents by the time my baby teeth had fallen out and visited fourteen countries by the time I had braces. My peripatetic childhood not only taught me to how to adapt, but also how to feel at home in Asian, American, and Australian cultures, and no doubt explains my decision to attend the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy’s Chinese School. When my family lived in...