1. It’s okay to be wrong. As a zealous Darlington first-grader who was more or less a know-it-all, my main goal in life at the time was to be right, to always have the right answer. I will admit, I tended to take this to extremes. You would think that this mindset of “I am always right” would fuel great actions and only serve as beneficial, and this is true, until, like myself, you are finally wrong—which happens to all of us. I don’t remember exactly what I was wrong about, but I believe it took place in Mrs. Peace’s first grade class. Long story short, Mrs. Peace posed a simple question, like “Can anyone tell me how many days are in the month of June?”, and I, knowing I had this one in the bag, raised my hand and calmly stated that there were 31 days. Unbeknownst to me, this was wrong. As you can imagine, I fell into a hissy-fit and could not fathom the idea of the great Emily Orr having any fault. It was at this time that Mrs. Peace changed my life by telling me that it is in fact okay to be wrong.
2. "You should treat others the way they would like to be treated." This was said by a guest speaker at a very memorable assembly one Wednesday and has transformed my entire outlook on relationships as a whole, seeing as it completely contradicts the golden rule of treating others the way you want to be treated (which at this point still serves purpose, but is a bit outdated as confirmed by the guest speaker).
3. “All things are ready if our mind be so.” Plastered on the front page of my freshman year Ancient World History Honors exam, this Shakespeare quote gave me the inspiration, as well as the confidence I needed to complete the exam and leave with a score to be proud of. Since the moment I left my four pages of blood, sweat, and tears on the exam desk, this life lesson has not yet left my heart, as well as mind.
4. My number four comes as a quote from the 2002 release of "Van Wilder“...you can't treat every situation as a life-and-death matter because you'll die a lot of times.” This is a positive and meaningful lesson that Darlington stresses oh-so-well. I cannot count the number of times Darlington faculty members and students have referred to a loss of any kind as “not the end of the world”. From athletics to academics (and everything in between) Darlington’s tone is consistently along the lines of “the next play is what matters”, and this is an attitude that I’m grateful to have adopted.
5. It’s good to go to an AP History extra credit movie every once in a while. This could also be understood as: when an opportunity is presented, it’s always best to take advantage (especially if Mr. Schmidt is willing to help you and your peers boost your grades). In other words, Darlington has taught me to do things that my future self will most likely thank me for.
6. "Real friend” and “Yes-Man” are very different titles. Simply validating the choices your “friends” have already chosen to make is not the true role of friend. Darlington has taught me that if your opinion doesn’t weigh heavily in ANY relationship then you’re time is being wasted and time is much too valuable to be wasted.
7. Chance favors the prepared mind. This is a personal motto that I have incorporated into my life during my time at Darlington. As a predictably unlucky person, I now choose to constantly prepare myself for what may come and have stopped relying on luck ever since Mr. Cox, my freshman year English teacher, became fond of pop quizzes during our Siddhartha unit. I have found that a planned day is much easier to endure as opposed to one of those days where you have no idea if it is A or B week.
8. Happiness is not by chance, but by choice. On the inside of my Spanish 3 Honors classroom, there is a poster which reads: “Miseria es siempre opcional”. Misery is always optional. This could not be more true. During my days at Darlington I have had some of the absolute best and worst days, but I’ve discovered that although my day may not be the best, happiness can still be achieved.
9. Time is golden. In correlation with my number six, time is something that once it is gone, it cannot be regained, and therefore should never be wasted. Due to this, it’s worth more than any other thing.
10. Yesterday is over. This lesson also corresponds with, well almost every other lesson I’ve learned at Darlington. In order to be a successful, whole being, one must come to fully understand that yesterday is indeed over and today is a new day. Darlington has taught me that I control my future, but cannot change my past, and that—like being wrong—is okay.
