Most freshmen follow the rules. Why shouldn’t they? After working their hardest to impress the Marymount Admissions office, studying for the most important standardized test so far in their young lives, and finally gaining the satisfaction and security of an acceptance letter, most incoming ninth-graders don’t want to mess everything up. For many, that means agreeing with everything the teachers say and enjoying the absence of middle school’s restrictions. The first few weeks of high school can seem like a paradise filled with Spanish rice and Spanish salad. Although the initial fascination eventually wanes, freshman year remains infused with the promise of meeting boys at Scarymount and eating free Diddy Riese cookies at every Marymount-sponsored social event. Amongst the wonder and innocence of this glorious time in one’s Marymount career, students generally avoid trouble and try their hardest not to irritate the seniors.

Throughout sophomore and junior year, a class of individuals begins to transform into an integrated unit with common beliefs. Class meetings grow in volume and shared opinions, and the girls launch into the demanding world of Honors and AP classes. Realizing that they can create their own legacy, they begin to start clubs, make traditions, and grow closer to their friends. The years go by, strengthening each student’s connection to the Marymount community and providing them with more and more experience in both their academic and social worlds.

By senior year, most girls can recall a time that they acted “slightly opinionated” towards any given school policy or student trend. Launching into the beginning of the end, I now recognize the sense of power and invincibility that enthralled the seniors before us and provided them with the ability to make their own decisions. By now, we all know a majority of the teachers and have overcome many of the intimidating fears that plagued us in the ninth grade. Leaving these inhibitions behind, we feel free to offer up our insights since we have been Sailors the longest.

In the relatively short time that school has been in session this fall, Marymount students experienced ample opportunities to advertise their opinions. We made our thoughts known regarding a changed uniform policy and scheduling alterations. But with the increasingly vocal opinions of the upperclassmen, some might say that the students have crossed a line. Are we expressing disagreement or simply defying authority? Teenagers are emotional people. We want to believe in our own brilliance and share our thoughts with the world, even when these thoughts seem rather radical. But as we rise in grade level and seniority, let’s not forget the times that the student body argued for the preservation of the school and its values.

A few weeks ago, the school buses turned on to Sunset Boulevard and experienced a visual confrontation: the banners that decorate the sides of the road, normally advertising museum exhibits or cultural events had been replaced with an advertising campaign for a certain other all girls’ school in the greater Los Angeles area. The encroachment seemed illogical and offensive, but the incident rallied together the members of the community. Attending school the next day, it seemed we all agreed that these methods of endorsement for a non-Marymount educational institution needed to stop. Arguments and plans for action erupted in the face of insult, and the same minds that could clearly articulate their ideas for the new uniform policy could also tell you exactly why Marymount should have a say in selecting appropriate advertisements for the area just outside of our school building.

Marymount students present their opinions in the same spirit of the learning environment that cultivates us. We spend four years having similar debates in our classes and learning to defend our positions without attacking one another. With this in mind, I argue that expressing our thoughts is just that, an expression. Not necessarily an attack or a complaint, but an expression, just like all the other expressions we learned to communicate here at Marymount. In the end, the intersection of opposing ideas helps to create the vibrant community that will prepare us for the real world. No one will get everything they ask for in life, so, seniors, it’s better to practice compromising now, while we still reign as the undisputed, flawless, invincible geniuses that will never willingly lose an argument.