PRES

Today was my last day at Pres. Yes, my very last Breakfast Club, my last PreCal class with Mr. Armstrong talking about weird things, my last lunch with the girls of my lunch table, I heard “Ladies, I'm going to be back” for the very last time and Dr. Hall's last excitement about a historic topic. All this happened today, summing up 10 months of friendship, studying, growing and open arms.

Before I even came to Pres I was very convinced that I am not going to like an all-girls Catholic School with a uniform. But on my very first day when I met my pricipal Ms. Wine and when Dara ran around the corner to guide me during my first days, I got the feeling for this school. It pretty much looks like Hogwarts and there are literally a lot of magical things happening in there, but really, this school became a home for me.

Pres is not only about academics, it is more about the people.Whenever I had problems in my hostfamily or with friends at home, I could count on at least 15 girls and several teachers to listen to me. So many days I came to school in a bad mood, crying because something happened, but at the end of the day I left Pres smiling because there were so many people that would cheer me up. I found a large group of friends I got really close to, including my lunch table and Breakfast Club, that would know how I felt when they saw my face in the morning. But I had different experiences with every single one. If it was in deep conversations with Dara (we had 6 out of 8 classes together!), at the beach in Florida with Sam, morning car rides with Haylie, text messages about life with Bailey or conversations about boys with Kasey and Savannah, it made my relation to them unique. Every single one of those girls I call my friends now, is so different and special in their own way that just smiling and feeling happy about this girl's existence was constantly happening to me.

Besides friendship, Pres really showed me how to be a good person. Sister Amina used to say “We are so lucky, we need to give something back” which encourages me to do service and make people happy like we did on Junior Retreat. I learned how to walk around with a smile on my face, being friendly to every one and to hold open doors or say “excuse me” every three seconds. It also taught me that I don't have to change for nobody and I experienced respect from every single person. It is the best feeling in the world to know that people accept you for who you are and that they like what you stand for. None of these students or staff were reluctant towards me because I come from a different country and behave differently sometimes. I met openminded people instead, that were interested in my home country and sharing experiences and cultures was a huge part of my exchange year which does not only make me proud of me being an American now, but also to appreciate Germany even more.

After this long description of how life was at Pres, I just want to say that no words can ever describe what I realized and achieved behind those Pres doors. Noone can tell how deep this school is anchored in my heart after 10 amazing months or how sad I really am to leave this home.

I would like to say thank you to all the Juniors who made my last lunch perfect (I looove the blanket and am going to read your notes when I'm on my way back to Germany), to every single student who encountered me with pleasure this year, to my teammates from Basketball and Track, to my principal B WINE (she is my favorite person in the world), to my Local Coordinator Cindy who made it possible for me to go to Pres, to all my teachers who had to put up with my English but also taught me more than only history or photography and finally again to all my classmates of the Class of 2016, for letting me become part of your class and sharing great moments like Ring Ceremony or Prom with me.

You all will always have a part in my heart and nothing will ever be able to change that.

Finally, about one year ago, a former exchange student Larissa told me “that God send me on this path to Pres” and now I understand what she meant.

Once a Pres Girl, Always a Pres Girl. 

I'll see you in a few years in a bridesmaid's dress

Bailey

I had soo many funny lunches with yall :)

Mary

Thanks for this title Savannah, ily

Squad

Literally the two best friends ever 

Sarah

2nd PreCalculus

3rd Theology

4th English

6th Digital Photography

Pledge of Allegiance, 1st AP Biology

7th Honors U.S. History 

Thank you so much Presentation Academy!