Don’t Blink: The Road to the Cap and Gown

Mrs+Clemenss+Kindergarten+Class+%0A+%0A%28Photo+Credit%3A+Lillian+Broussard%29

Mrs Clemens’s Kindergarten Class (Photo Credit: Lillian Broussard)

Ascension Day School. That little red building filled with bright colors and miniature desks. It seems like only yesterday I was walking into those gates from the carpool line. My backpack double my size and probably three times my weight filled with crayons and stuffed animals. Big smiles and goldfish in little dixie cups. Music class with Mrs. Stevenson and PE with Coach Hebert the highlight of my day. Countless hours on playgrounds and in the sandbox (the parents’ favorite thing to clean out of our shoes) will forever be some of my fondest memories of everyone’s favorite “Little Red School”.

A brand new name, Ascension Episcopal School. Time to say goodbye to dark green and sailor shirts, and hello to the navy, white, and baby blue polos too! Lower school at Ascension was filled with friends and tons of fun. Making gingerbread houses out of milk cartons with Mrs. Gonzales and Valentine’s Day parties with Mrs. Horton. Countless hours of rehearsal for our annual plays led by Mrs. Poimbuff and Mr. Roden. Thanks to them, I can recite all “fifty nifty” of the United States! And I can’t forget everyone’s favorite part of the day… PE with Coach Sciambra. Dodgeball, Capture the Flag, and jump rope units all played to the tune of Coach Chaney’s playlist, which featured our favorite song “Eye of the Tiger”.  The downtown campus quickly became our second home.

“The Big Campus” all the way in Youngsville is where our story is quickly coming to an end. Varsity sports and “Picture Perfect Days”. New plaid and harder courses. “Big kid” dances, homecoming, and prom! Plus, daily quotes from everyone’s favorite US history teacher, Coach McCullough, and crazy stories told by Mrs. Lad. Yearbook designing, article writing, and plenty of Journalism field trips. Ultimate teacher challenges and amazing pep rallies. Friday night football and intense volleyball games. SMP is tons of fun!

Throughout all the years at Ascension, this school has taught me the importance of friendships and how to grow mentally and spiritually. To my fellow peers, cherish your time here, because sooner or later you will be applying to college and preparing yourself to move on.  

Class of 2019, I can’t even begin to tell you how much each and every one of you has made my many years at Ascension ones I will never forget. Senior Austin Arceneaux made us all cry when he said: “Even though I probably made fun of y’all in middle school, I actually love y’all a lot and I don’t know what I would do with y’all”. Not everyone gets to say that their graduating class is also their support system. I am proud to say that these people have molded me into the person I am today, and I am forever grateful. Even senior Brooks Whittington said, “I’ve only been here since 8th grade, but these people have become like a family to me.”

As I sit here writing this article, I can not help but think that there is no way little ole me is already a senior in high school! Realizing that in a few short months I will not walk into those familiar doors every morning. I will not put on the familiar plaid skirt and lace up my white and blue Keds. I will no longer see the faces of many friends that now feel like family to me.

To my underclassman, enjoy every moment that you have, be bold, courageous, and unapologetically yourself, because one day you will blink, toss your graduation cap in the air, and say goodbye to your countless years you have spent at Ascension Episcopal School. Don’t Blink!