Hey everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Elena, I am a Junior this year, and I work in the Advancement department here at GLAA. I am so excited to share this whole new year with you all!
Last year, in my back to school blog post, I described a little bit about how nervous I was to be here for the first time. But this year, when I thought about returning to GLAA I wasn’t apprehensive or nervous, I was excited. I was counting down the days until school, looking forward to seeing all my friends, talking to the staff, and meeting new people. I was even eager to take new classes. And now, here we are, almost a week into the school year!
It’s good to be back at this old, familiar place, but even though it is familiar, some things seem brand new. Over the summer, the chapel was remodeled, and it is beautiful! The walls were painted white, new carpet rolled out, and flooring laid on the stage. The pews were taken out, and chairs were brought in, new TVs were hung on the walls, and now, all of us students get to see it for the first time. Not only does it look new, but it smells fresh and new as well.
Last Sunday, we had our first worship service as a school family, in which our Student Association (SA) led out, and introduced themselves and our theme for the school year. This year, our theme will be “The Time is Now,” and our theme verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which is all about how there is a time for everything. A time for laughing and crying, sowing and reaping, silence and speaking, life and death, love and hate, war and peace. Our SA Pastor, Marelin, gave a wonderful worship thought about what that verse can mean for each class.
She spoke about how for the freshmen, this was a little like the time to be born. This is the time for them to discover how things work, find their classes, and make new friends. She said that for the sophomores, this was a time to build. Last year, everything was a new experience for them. But this year, they are maybe taking some demanding classes, trying out for a touring group, building up old friendships, and creating new ones. For the Juniors, it is the time to gather stones. We have already tackled our first Carter class and first Reichert class, but now it’s time to start committing to studying for our tests when we know one is coming up, to start running for leadership positions, and joining clubs. For seniors, this is the time to harvest. They have already put in the work, they don’t have many difficult classes left, they have already built the friendships, and run for the leadership positions. Now they can pretty much just enjoy their last year of high school.
All this week, SA has activities planned to help us get to know each other and settle in on campus. Many of them deliberately pushing us out of our previous friend groups, as well as our comfort zones. Last Sunday, we had SA handshake followed by an icecream social in center campus. On Monday they brought us popsicles. On Tuesday, as we left the lunch line, they gave us a Jolly Rancher, and we were supposed to sit at whatever table corresponded with the color of our Jolly Rancher. Wednesday, the staff dressed up like waiters and waitresses in black and white and served us pizza for dinner. Thursday, for lunch they handed out cards with Bible characters on them and we had to find someone with the same card and get to know them. Tonight, Friday evening, we have a special vespers where we dedicate the campus to God. Saturday night, we have SA Scavenger hunt in the gym, which is loud and crazy, with each class cheering on their team. On Sunday, we have SA picnic, where we compete as classes and play games in the ball field, run relay races, and inevitably get sunburnt.
Classes have begun, some of them a little more difficult than I imagined, but others are a lot more interesting than I thought they would be. I’ve already seen friends reunited, new friendships forming, and the staff welcoming us all with open arms. I never thought when I arrived here last year how much this school would come to mean to me. I never imagined that I would come to feel at home here. And in my wildest dreams, I could not have guessed what God had in store for me here. The school year has just begun, and I can’t wait to see what God has planned for us next!
Love,
Elena
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time of peace.” —Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Great Lakes Adventist Academy 