2023 Sixth Form Commencement Speech by Liam Kennelly

During my freshman year, Mr. Downs read us a graduation speech by Lucy Papachristou, which he said was one of the most moving and emotional talks he’d ever heard. The speech consisted of her articulately describing the beauty of nature. If you are expecting my speech to blow your mind, it will not. I’m sorry, but today I will not be giving anyone a profound talk about flowers - I barely passed ceramics class. But, what I will do is show you the uniqueness of Millbrook through the Class of 2023. It is through our experience that will show you to be yourself no matter what.

September 2019 is when it all started. The first thing that I remember is a bunch of little freshmen, a man-child who called himself Big Lou, and Mr. Pearson sitting on the quad in the circle. We started off by saying our names, and I can vividly recall one kid saying, “Forrest.” I was shocked. Forrest and I have become great friends throughout our four years and don't get me wrong, it's a sick name. The only thing I could think was, who would name their kid after the Forest? My question was answered only 20 minutes later in cross-country practice. I met the man and I have never met a man like him since. Mr. Schmitt does not know what injured means. No matter what I said, I could not get out of running. “Hey Mr.Schmitt, I have shin splints today. I don't think I can run.” His reply: “Um yeah, so um maybe um you can just run then and then um maybe do a little more running and then you will be fine okay? Meet you at 5.” Thank you for that, Mr. Schmitt. Although you made my shins hurt, I knew that somehow this place was different, and it started with the faculty. 

The faculty has done a great job connecting with us, meeting our needs, and not getting stuck in their ways. They constantly deal with our shenanigans while maintaining a friendly relationship. Let's all give them a hand because without them this school truly would not be as great as it is.

Ever since that first day, Millbrook has been a really wild ride. I’m gonna be honest when I say this, but this school is weird. Like this isn't a normal school. I know some parents are like “damn right this ain't a normal school, it costs 70 thousand dollars.” Before I start going into how this school is weird, I want to clarify that being weird or different is not a negative thing. In fact, it is what we should try to be. Although it is uncomfortable and hard to be different, it is the only way to be yourself.

 

As boarding school students, you expect us to be super mature, sophisticated, and poised. Yeah, no. I swear to you, SWEAR, that whenever there is a quad gathering or social outing it ends in only a couple of possibilities. 
Kids start to tabletop each other, which creates a nonstop loop of pushing and shoving. I don't know why, but I guess in our minds, pain is fun. Somehow, kids start pouring water, liquids, and anything they can on each other. Remember our spring carnival? Yeah, so, we used the drinking pitchers that the school provided us to dump on each other instead of drinking them. When this happened, it honestly seemed like this was a natural instinct for us. It really looks like we are 5-year-olds and have lost our minds in a sugar rush. In fact, I am kind of worried that we are all going to go to college and during a social gathering, we’re just gonna tabletop someone like we do now, until we realize the whole group is staring at us, asking how is this fun and where did we come from? Yeah, Millbrook did this, duh.

I actually think this is part of Millbrook that we are going to miss the most. We can act a certain way that may be perceived as strange by outside people, but in this community, we don't have to think about the perception of others. And I think this aspect is rarely talked about. 

Do you know what also is rarely talked about? The fact that we have our own zoo. When I first got here and was talking to my friends from back home, they were shocked at the fact we had a zoo. I would often ask them what their afternoons were like, and they would respond with, “Probably some Xbox and sports - how about you?” and I would say, “Oh nice, yeah, me too, but first, I’m gonna go feed our pet bobcat and red pandas.” By the way, have you ever tried to feed a bobcat? It's like this little cat demon that is super angry for no reason. Like, chill out, Betty. 

Have you ever been to one of our assemblies? It is quite an anomaly. We start off sometimes with a really well-spoken announcement by Mr. Downs, and it's like, wow, this school is what a boarding school is supposed to look like. Then things get weird, fast. For instance, this year, when the weather started to get nice, Mr. Thom had to do his annual announcement. Basically, kids like to swim in ponds infested with cow manure. Now, I’m sure they did not know this, and they probably thought the black pond water was just some mud and clean water. So every year, Mr. Thom has to remind us that this is not a good idea because of something called E. coli. I appreciated this because I promise you none of us were thinking that far ahead. What’s even wrong with a little E. coli in the system?

I have no problem calling this school weird because we all know I’m a little weird. Alright, I get it, I'm very weird. I know I don’t look like it, but I am actually a basketball player. I’m sure this is shocking to most of you because I really look like a choir boy. Anyway, I spent most of my time here playing basketball, basically hibernating and isolating from everyone else. So, when COVID hit, while most were feeling the wrath of isolation, I was in my element.

During COVID, a lot of rules changed so we were able to go to school. COVID took a lot of important things away from me. The absolute worst on this list was shutting down the weight room. So, what did my roommate Campbell Thomas and I decide to do? Bring the weight room to us. Campbell brought the squat rack and bench press, and I got the dumbbells. We were able to turn room 6 into LA Fitness. While dorm parents were trying to enjoy some nice family time, Campbell and I were turning into men. 

Now, I’m sure some parents are thinking, "Oh my god, where did I send my child to school?" But I shared all of that to say this. Everyone is weird and Millbrook embraces the weird. We do not take ourselves too seriously and we aren't trying to impress anyone. We are not comparing ourselves and trying to look like a professional boarding school. If you like us, cool, and if you don't, there are always other schools like Canterbury or Pomfret. Although, before you do that have you ever met someone who goes there? If that answer is no, you are lucky.

I'm not saying that Millbrook is this perfect utopia where there is no judgment or criticism. It exists here like everywhere else. In almost all of these experiences that I have mentioned, there have been people who have judged and made faces because they are too cool for what is happening. It is hard to embrace things that are foreign. I'm no different and am guilty. There are going to be times when you are asked to do things that are different. It is okay to acknowledge that these things are definitely weird and strange, look, this is what my whole talk is about. However, If you let go of the expectation of trying to be someone or something and just get outside of your comfort zone with no judgment, you will grow. The expectations and pressure we put on ourselves rid us of the ability to evolve and try new things. We are always scared that someone is looking and someone is judging us.

I advise everyone to try their best not to negatively judge what’s different because that’s what we should strive to be. Millbrook consistently fosters uniqueness and being different. I have loved my experience here because you are allowed to be yourself. 

This point came to me in a talk Mr. Downs had with a group of students at the beginning of the year. He told us that he looks at expectations as shadows. Rather than running from them, he likes to dance with them. While he was using this analogy at the time, I just nodded and smiled while I thought, “This guy is nuts; how did he come up with this?” But, as I am almost a year older, I think this is the most important thing that we can do as students. As we begin our new chapters, new standards and expectations will be set. Whether you are going to college next year or coming back here, embrace the challenge and look at expectations, pressure, and standards as an opportunity to continue to be yourself and get out of your comfort zone. Don’t run from them and hide, but run towards them. There is no reason not to dance when a challenge comes. Get out there and do not be afraid to look like an idiot or make mistakes. One of the greatest quotes I have read came from the late Kobe Bryant, where he said, “Failure doesn't exist.” It truly doesn't, in the grand scheme of things, you have nothing to lose. You never did.

Now, I’m sure that in most speeches, the class speaker almost always says, “Our class was so special and talented.” If I’m going to be honest in the beginning, four-year seniors will know the only thing special about our class was how unbelievably bad we were. Half our grade thought boarding school was just a summer camp with voluntary reading. For us to come from that dark hole to this bright stage truly is an accomplishment. 

Our ride has been a crazy one. I urge everyone to reflect and understand that we will truly never be in a community that is so connected and focused on helping each other. The good, the bad, and the ugly will all be meshed into one. We will never be wished “good night” by a dorm parent again, even though some of us are 19 going on 20, and it makes us feel like a 7-year-old. We can never go to a school dance again that really just feels like a middle school bar mitzvah/party. We will never have all school assemblies again. We can’t text our friends to meet at the quad to play spike ball again. Unfortunately, there will be no more free days.  No more Sunday brunches, and no more bonfires by the turf.

It really only started to hit me about a week and a half ago on our free day that we are leaving. As I sat on the chapel steps and watched kids rushing in with pure joy and energy, I knew I would never be in a place like this again. I remember saying to myself, “It's really over.” With that being said, our class has accomplished so much, and while it is over, we have used our time to make a difference.

 

Whether you’re Hannah Coon who is a writing prodigy, Ari Hahn who is simply a genius, Mike Siano who is able to argue with anyone anywhere at any time, a chill guy like Neu, or a lightskin tank like Chris Diaz, we all have value. The strongest teams and communities are the ones that value each member whether they win every single award or none. Every single person in our class has had an impact on school culture. The diversity of our class’ personalities is why we have been able to come together and make an impact.

In an anthropology class with Mr. Powers, I asked him if it is human nature to suffer. He responded by saying that humans are community builders, and with that comes loss, devastation, and the eventual death of certain communities. As seniors, we have all been in this community, and we have built friendships, connections, and experiences that are tied to our hearts. However, like every community, it changes and we have to move on. Some may be excited, sad, angry, or happy but our time in this community has come to an end. And so whatever feeling you have right now, remember it, because I promise you this pain, joy, or combination of both will happen only a couple of more times in your life.

That said, Mom and Dad, I hope you got over the surprise and heard what I had to say. If you didn’t, this is recorded. Underformers, please keep it weird, and don't try to be something you're not. I’ll miss you, especially you, Pat. Class of 2023, let’s keep being ourselves and carry this awesome, wild, weird experience everywhere we go. 

Thank you.