VVS Life

Senior Chapel Talk

Ebbie Edmonston

While reading over the speech I wrote in November I realized that many of the things I wrote about had changed and that with them so did my opinions. My topic although is still the same, family. And so far in my life I have had three stages where my family has grown.

Being an only child in a smaller district of St. Louis, I found myself seeking ways to extend my family. With my mom keeping her job at the Washington University medical department, she needed to find a place for me to go in the daytime. That’s how I discovered the St. Louis Children’s Day School. Going to this day care was the first extension of my family. I learned very quickly that you couldn’t be a quiet kid if you wanted to have playmates. From the earliest age allowed I was enrolled here and made friends that have stuck with me throughout my life. The people who took care of me and the friends I made became more like family to me every time I went back to St. Louis to visit them.

After moving to Arizona I went through grade school like every kid and when I was ten I started going to a summer camp in Prescott. It took a few years of going back to that camp before I really began to like it. Eventually I grew too old to be a camper and signed up for their leadership positions. I became a C.I.L.T. and a C.I.T. and had my own cabins of younger girls to help look after. All of the people I met have created lasting memories with me, just another expansion of my family.

Working at camp and coming to VVS overlapped each other. Before everything was set in stone for me to come here I still viewed it as a joke. The school I was attending wasn’t hard for me but I had finally found the nitch where I fit in, I didn’t think my parents would take that away from me. The time arrived when I just gave in to the fact that I was going to go to boarding school. I was looking forward to the adventure but not at leaving my friends behind.

My first year here was my year for testing the limits. I had work detail most of my weekends that year because of it. I can still remember the first few days, meeting Zach, Pat, Ryan, and Christine. The year went by with a mixture of emotions that only a small few of you would know about. I had problems with my grades thanks to my old school and wasn’t sure at times that VVS was right for me. But there were always those few people that looked out for me and were my close friends.

My junior year came around and I was excited to be back, see the same faces as the year before and meet some new ones. I knew then that this is where I wanted to be. As many of you know the beginning of that year wasn’t the best for me. After my suspension the rest of the year I focused on making sure I wouldn’t screw up. More than anything I wanted to stay at VVS and would try my hardest to keep it that way. The year went by with ups and downs, and thankfully I still had those close friends to get me through the tough times and to smile with me during the good ones.

And now I’m a senior, standing in front of you giving my senior speech. Throughout my life I’ve been the only child and always searched for those who can join the family in my heart. I have those few from St. Louis who know the most embarrassing things about me. Those from camp, who I have been in many different relationships with. And now, you. You all sitting here listening to this, you have become part of my family. Know that you all have affected my greatly and will always be in my heart.

Thank you