Editor's Letters
Editor's Letter:
Editor In Chief:
Andrew Simonson
My mom frequently calls my brothers and me by our nicknames she made up for us when we were little. Mine was unfortunately “Drew-drew.” Later into my childhood, I gained another one: “Sheldon,” based on my similarities to Jim Parsons’s character from my mom’s closet obsession, The Big Bang Theory. I thought nothing of it for the longest time, dismissing it as a joke that only my mom understood.
Only when I watched the show for the first time last year did I realize it was a backhanded compliment. I learned that Sheldon is a scientist who is too smart for his own good, making him naïve and clueless in any non-scientific facet of life, especially relationships. In other words, a nerd to the nth degree. I could not accept this portrayal of me, as I thought the only things keeping me from being a jock were my straight A’s and my sloth-like hand-eye coordination. In my Sheldon-esque pride, I couldn’t think of myself as a socially awkward man-child who is full of himself. But as I progressed past my initial grief, I realized that my jock side and my nerd side could coexist, contrary to what society believes.
When I came to SouthLake in sixth grade, I didn’t find anyone who shared my dual interests. Up until then, I leaned on my best friends from my old school, Brendan and Caleb, a couple of geeks trapped in jocks’ bodies. They were a perfect match for me, but our new middle schools were so far away that we couldn’t stay in touch easily in our cell phone-less youth. That meant I had to choose: should I embrace my jock side or my nerd side? Since the jock options in my homeroom were deemed legally insane by my preliminary evaluations, I went with the latter. I met Tanner and Jacob and the three of us became instant friends, thanks in large part to our mutual interest in the game Skylanders Giants. There was just one problem: they did not care about sports. Even as our circle of friends expanded to what it is now, none of my friends have that same fire about sports that they have for video games.
I had to find other places to feed my jock side, and one of those was the basketball team. Basketball has always been my favorite sport, but I was not very good at it, so I settled for the next best thing to playing basketball: managing basketball. I took part in all the fun of travelling and hanging out with the team without having to sweat a drop. It was a win-win for a sports-starved seventh-grader.
For six seasons, being a part of the basketball team has been my outlet for sports. It is cathartic for me, but also a challenge. Once I joined, I felt that if I wanted to be fully accepted by the team, I had to drop my nerd side. So I went all in, going full jock during basketball and full nerd with my friends. I now had two perceptions of me at school: Andrew Simonson the nerd, who lives off a strict diet of Destiny, Marvel movies, and Star Wars cartoons, and “Big Drew,” the wannabe jock who spouts off timely roasts he regrets within a couple of minutes after he says them. It felt like too much of a balancing act to keep both images up, and even though I was able to do it for over five years, I eventually reached a point where I couldn’t juggle a double life anymore.
What I didn’t realize was that nerds and jocks are not as incompatible as society makes you believe. At their core, both groups are kids who just never fully grew up. Jocks idolize sports, which are really just playground games that a lot of people like playing. Nerds play games, but they involve either cards, a board, or an Xbox instead of balls and sticks. Both groups fill their conversations with childish debates; the only difference is that instead of wondering if LeBron James could beat Michael Jordan, the other half argues if Batman could beat Superman. They both also fill their brains with irrational dreams, whether that be becoming a Super Bowl-winning quarterback or a full-time League of Legends streamer. But the biggest similarity is that they both don’t care what tomorrow throws at them; they simply get the most excitement out of today. And once I realized that, I stopped trying to keep my lives separate. I wanted to embrace the full spectrum of Andrew Simonson, regardless if people judged me for bringing my Nintendo Switch to Spanish class.
This turning point happened in December when I took my friends to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi on opening night. I planned a month in advance for this, pre-ordering my tickets for the first showing and getting to the theater fifty minutes early to make sure we didn’t sit in the front row. I basically went as all in as I possibly could short of wearing a Luke Skywalker cloak. Three hours later, I walked out of the theater with a giant smile on my face and then saw Macey and Peyton standing by the arcade machines. They had come from a different movie and asked me what I thought of Star Wars. What proceeded was a barely understandable series of phrases and noises that could have only come from a man who had just seen the best movie of his life and did not want to spoil anything. We only talked about the movie for a few minutes and then they left with the rest of their group, but looking back, our conversation meant so much more. I had come out about my nerdy secrets to others and did not feel ashamed about it, because they still liked me despite this new view of me. My nerd side didn’t compromise my jock side; the two complemented each other. They both make me who I am, and I am now okay with people seeing both sides of me. So much so that I wore Sheldon Cooper’s iconic Flash t-shirt with my Stephen Curry basketball shoes to the movies that night and didn’t care what anyone thought.
Editor's Christmas Letter:
December 1 is one of my favorite days of the year. That’s because it’s the day I enter “Christmas Mode,” where after 2-4 weeks of looking like a scrooge by covering my ears to Christmas music, groaning whenever a Christmas ad comes on TV, and ignoring the 5-hour Christmas movie marathon on the way to D.C., I go all in. Christmas Andrew is the guy who keeps Michael Bublé and Pentatonix firmly atop the Apple Music charts, while also taking his excuse to indulge in classic bands too (Beach Boys, anyone?). He watches Elf, Home Alone, A Charlie Brown Christmas and the criminally underrated Prep and Landing many times over on Freeform. He also bakes lots of holiday baked goods, and after eating all of said baked goods, finds new motivation to train for Cross Country season.
But Christmas Andrew is currently very triggered because he can hear a familiar “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” from downstairs while he works on homework.
Sadly, the past couple years have taught me that life doesn’t stop for Christmas. Not all the candy canes in the world can make that Pre-Calc exam disappear or Huckleberry Finn read itself. You simply have to put your blinders back on and finish the first semester grind, just as life, school, sports, and fine arts seem to crash down on top of you. Somehow, you must pretend that Christmas does not exist. This is a problem for me, mainly because I can’t help but smell the cocoa at the end of the tunnel and get excited for my favorite time of year. It’s not only the one time when people seem happier and less stressed (unless you’re planning a Christmas party), but it’s also when we celebrate Jesus coming down to earth. And who can’t get excited about that? Christmas is literally a gift from God, and one I like to cherish in all its awesomeness.
There’s a lot of things that could be motivating you to finish out this last week and a half. Maybe it’s pulling up that borderline grade, or that one class you need to work at a little more to exempt, or simply the promise of three weeks without school. Me? I’m running on pure Christmas spirit, because I know that in a few short days, I’ll have all the time in the world to celebrate what I love with the people I love. I’ve just got to see it through till the end, and then it’ll all be worth the work.
That’s how I’m getting through exams this year. Well, that and Star Wars, but I fear that’s a three-page editor’s letter in-and-of itself, so I’m going to stop here.
Wishing you a merry Christmas, happy holidays, and no trips to the throne of lies,
Andrew Simonson, Editor-in-Chief
Editor's Summer Letter:
I’m not usually very good at telling summer stories. My social butterfly side stops showing itself when I’m away from my friends for almost three months, and usually the only things I can share are a trip to the beach and a couple of Braves and Atlanta United games. My main social interactions outside of the occasional movie night are over voice chat with my friends during League of Legends and Destiny 2 sessions. This past summer surprised me, though, in many unexpected ways and with many unexpected people.
I’ve been going to the same church since I was five, so you would think I had a strong group of friends there in addition to my friends here at school. Up until 2018, you would have been dead wrong. I was in and out of my youth group, with not so much as a word to anyone. But after a missions trip the previous summer, I was starting to branch out and make some friends. Over the next few months, I could tell that even though I had only spent an hour a week with them, these were some of the friends God wanted in my life.
If you’ve been in a youth group for any period of time, you know that summer camp is kind of a big deal, so, naturally, my friends asked me if I was going to go. I had used the “no friends” excuse for five years, but now I actually wanted to go because I finally saw the spiritual benefits in going and had friends I’d have a good time with. There was only one problem. I couldn’t go because I was having jaw surgery two weeks before camp. I pretty much gave up hope on going before God sent a bombshell my family’s way. With less than 24 hours before I was scheduled for surgery, my parents received a massive hospital bill that we couldn’t cover, and we had to cancel. So now I didn’t have an 8-week recovery to worry about over the summer and I actually had my summer back. I was looking for opportunities left and right to fill my summer, and one of those opportunities was a last-second spot at summer camp.
That was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I had so much fun getting to know a lot of different people in my youth group I hadn’t even thought about meeting and made so many great memories. From over-the-top capture the flag to never-ending ping-pong matches to the most intense Uno games the world has ever seen, I definitely had my fair share of excitement that week and got to share it with my newfound friends. I also got closer to Jesus and strengthened my relationship with Him as well, which ended up being the best part of the entire experience.
Throughout the rest of summer, we still saw each other frequently at Bible studies at my pastor’s house and the occasional beach volleyball game at Blythe Landing. We talked a lot about life, school, sports, and God over those few months. We grew really close and I finally appreciated the value of having strong Christian friends—something I had always taken for granted. Even though we’re not seeing each other as often now that school has started, and some of them moved off to college out-of-state, we’re still as close as we were during the summer, if not closer. I introduced my friends to Zachary too, and he’s enjoying them just as much as I am. I even successfully asked one of them to SouthLake’s homecoming.
To Eli, Jonathan, Giovanna, Caitlin, Macy, and all the other awesome people from Grace Covenant reading this that I don’t have the space to name: thanks for being the best group of friends I could have asked for. You guys have impacted me in so many amazing ways that I don’t even know where to start. God placed each of you in my life for a reason and I’m so thankful to Him for the blessing you’ve been. I can’t wait to see what the months and years to come hold for us.
And to everyone at SouthLake reading this with a confused face and feeling slightly left out: don’t. Ever since I’ve come here, you’ve been nothing short of phenomenal to me. I value each and every one of you more than you could imagine. I’m very lucky and grateful to have all of you in my life showing what the love of Christ looks like on a day-to-day basis. Past, present, or future, there’s not a single day I’m not thankful to God for being able to not just call you all classmates, but friends. You all are awesome, and I can’t find any other words to describe it.
I’m so glad to be back here for another year and be able to have the best of both again. I’m not sure how longer I could have taken using only Discord to socialize.
-Andrew Simonson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief
First Editor's Letter:
It’s 5:15 a.m. at Windy Gap. Many students wouldn’t consider this the most memorable part of their Windy Gap experience. In fact, almost everyone is sound asleep at this time, crashed out from an eventful night. Almostbecause the cross-country team has stumbled out of their beds to embark on the yearly Landis Run, a Tuesday morning run outside Windy Gap that helps the team bond as a family.
I could tell this year’s run would be interesting from the moment Mr. Wilson showed me a map of four miles of trail behind the go-kart track. This was uncharted territory for any of us, since we normally ran the road that led into the camp, so we were completely unprepared for what to expect on the trail. With that bit of encouragement, the twenty of us set off.
The first hour was rough, and that may be putting it lightly. As it turns out, the trail was straight up a mountain, which means the first mile and a half was a nonstop hill with tree roots, ditches, and random rocks scattered along the way. To make matters worse, it was so dark that we went up this stretch with nothing but a couple flashlights to guide us. I’ve run cross country since I was a freshman and faced some hard trails but taking this stretch at a jog felt harder than any 5K I had ever run. About midway through the ascent, I looked over at Mr. Wilson and Justin and asked why we even did this trail in the first place. We pressed on though, because we were too far up to even think of going back down.
Eventually we hit a part of the trail that leveled off, and just in time to see the sun peek through the treetops. It was the first time I had ever seen a sunrise, and it was every bit as beautiful as I expected, even with the forest obscuring part of the sky. We trekked on down the trail, and thankfully that ascent was the worst part. Other than a downhill we had to take one step at a time to avoid the scariest and most painful slide ride of your life, it was smooth sailing. But Mr. Wilson kept saying that he had a destination in mind along the trail.
About a mile and a half from where the trail ends there was a giant hill with wooden structures set up at the base and a campfire at the top. We ran up the hill with everything we had left and were greeted with an astonishing view. This was what our coach was leading us to the entire time. We had reached the summit of Middle Mountain and were able to see a bit of the mountains through a clearing in the trees, even with the morning fog. I was speechless. It was one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen. We must have stood up there for ten minutes, just soaking it in and taking pictures. We all looked at each other and could only say one thing: this was worth the climb.
On our way down the mountain, we followed the trail back down to Windy Gap until we heard the sound of rushing water off to the side. Seeing a break from the trail, we went down, and to everyone’s surprise, even Mr. Wilson’s, there was a small waterfall sitting just off the main trail with some benches at the base. It was equally as phenomenal as the view. I stuck my hand in the flowing water and it felt fresher than anything I had ever felt and very cold when I put it on the back of my neck. I went around the rocks and found a path to the top and just sat on the summit for a few seconds, looking down at the base where we were all splashing around. It was an awesome surprise for right before we went back to campus.
After all that, we sat down near the volleyball courts, exhausted yet exhilarated. I felt the need to take a moment and talk to the team about what we had just accomplished. The hill we had ascended was much harder than anything we had ever climbed, but we beat it. And sitting at the end was a pair of unbelievable rewards. It resembled a lot of what life throws at us: sometimes you struggle just to get by and the mountain is beyond anything you could ever imagine. Just like the never-ending ascent, it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But at the end of the pain, it was completely worth it, because there’s always something on the other side of all of life’s mountains. You just have to keep pushing through and surrender your situation to God. At the start of cross-country races, I always yell “Give me this mountain!” because I know what’s standing in front of me is not going to be easy or fun, but if I let God take control, He has all the strength in the world because He’s king of the universe. If that’s not true strength, I don’t know what is. God’s gotten me through every race I’ve run so far. I’m confident He’ll help me when I feel weak and have nothing left to get me to the finish line and the relief that awaits there.
Word quickly spread out about the amazing hike and a group of fifteen freshmen joined a handful of us runners who wanted to experience it again and we went the next morning. Although we had to still go up the ascent, the rewards were still there on the other side, and helping others see it for themselves was very rewarding. We even lucked out and didn’t get any fog this time, allowing us to see the entire mountain range.
That run was easily the most memorable moment of Windy Gap and possibly of my entire cross-country career. It set all of us up for a day where we would need to trust God in everything we did, especially for me as a senior and everything that happened on Tuesday night. I’m proud of myself for waking up before the crack of dawn to go on my last Landis Run, because I learned a lot about myself, my teammates, and even a little bit about life and faith as well. It even gave me a little boost to my pride, so much so that I said to Mrs. Ledford, “I climbed a mountain before breakfast! What have you done this morning?”
-Andrew Simonson, Editor-in-Chief
Editor’s Note: As of this issue, we will no longer be posting paper copies of The Eagle’s Eyein the upper school hallway. Check us out at our new website home at <link> and follow @slca_studentlife on Instagram for all 2018-19 issues as well as for bonus content and pictures in between issue releases. We will also continue to distribute through email.
If you are interested in joining The Eagle’s Eye as a writer for this school year, it’s not too late to sign up. Please see Mrs. Shipman in Room 110 of the upper school building for more information on how to get involved. We can’t wait for you to join our amazing team!