A Story

MCS 40 at Bill & Amy Hinkley’s Blueberry Farm in Waldoboro

As I sit at home on the couch and look out at the pouring rain, I feel I must tell a story and thank Chewonki for one thing, out of thousands, in particular. Last June, as I was taking the T home from a sailing course in Boston, I stumbled on a group of MCS grads in a bus in Porter Square. I was one of the last to board the bus and realized there were no seats left, so I stood in the aisle near five or six students. They were laughing and joking, sitting on each other’s laps, and one of the boys was wearing a Chewonki sweatshirt. At the time I had decided not to apply to Chewonki and was regretting my decision. That crowded bus ride seemed to take hours, even though it was only about eight minutes. These kids were so happy, content, and comfortable with themselves and with each other. It was a miserable ride knowing that I had a chance, despite how small, to be like these kids, and I had thrown that opportunity away just for the fear of change.

Almost a week ago we received our own Chewonki sweatshirts at Bill’s farm. As I looked down at myself I realized the circle was complete. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought that day on the T, that I would become one of those students, and now I have. I want to thank everyone at Chewonki for their patience, determination, and overall willingness to give me the opportunity to experience what those students had, even after I had brushed it away the first time.

And I want to thank my classmates/friends/siblings/playmates/MCSers for helping me in this process. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing you all are. As I looked at all of you at Bill’s, laughing and joking, I realized our time at Chewonki will never end. We will always be MCS 40. I hope to see you all soon at some point. And don’t dwell on the ending. We are off on new adventures! Go make a salad outside, or sleep in a hammock one night, or go on a walk. Now I’m going to go before this gets any more cheesy (or I start crying). But I really do love you all and I want to thank you for being yourselves.

Love, Erica

-Erica Georgaklis, Calais, VT