Gian Martinez

President

Dear Class of 2021,

As I write this farewell to you all, I’m currently sitting, reminiscing on these last six years, which for some have flown, and for others have felt like an eternity. While I’m doing my best to conjure up all the firsts, events, growth and memories we’ve all experienced together, my mind keeps running into that same unavoidable roadblock that took us all by surprise on March 13, 2020: a time we thought was going to be a well-deserved “month off” from school, but ended up resulting in the dreadful loss of our senior year of high school, as well as the latter half of our junior year: the time most of us had spent our entire Boston Latin School careers waiting so eagerly to get to.

Whether it was to finally get to live out that “high school experience,” or just waiting to get out of high school all together, one thing is certain: we have all spent the last four to six years in the same building and classes, even toughing it out through the same teachers, together, as a class. And despite the hurdles we’ve had to face in the last year alone, here we are, finishing strong, together, as a class.

To say I’m wholeheartedly proud of each and every member of the Class of 2021, for just seeing it through until the end, would be an understatement. The tremendous amount of courage, strength, determination, supportiveness and resiliency that you all had to have or had gained through these last couple of years is a feat that will live on with you past BLS. This growth and maturity for many, however, also came at the expense of social isolation, mental health, loss and trauma. We, Class of 2021, love you and are just as proud. The unwavering mental toughness it takes to even wake up in the midst of a pandemic that has changed our perspectives on many things and made others seem meaningless is commendable in and of itself.

Sure, between our sixie year and now we have definitely grown into amazing individuals, but something about these last two years has resulted in many of us finding ourselves, our passions and even our purposes. Let us not forget the times throughout our journeys that were spent being intimidated by a building that we hadn’t yet explored, but had only seen because of our siblings or shadow day, or in the cafeteria cramming our homework before the bells rang, or chatting in the library just quiet enough to not draw the attention of the librarians, or covering our noses on our way back to class from lunch because let’s just say that eighth-grade hallway needed a hefty amount of candles, or even huddling around the Alma Mater to not only support our clubs but our stomachs with those bussin’ baked goods.

Farewell, Class of 2021.

Gian Martinez

Mia Merullo

Vice President

Well, everyone, it’s been quite a year. Whether you spent the whole year attending school virtually or if you decided to wake up extra early and commute to school for hybrid, our senior year has been extremely unique. This has been the most challenging and confusing year by far, but we managed to power through it. I’m so proud of all of you for finding the strength to keep going and for not giving up when things have been tough. Throughout my time at Boston Latin School, my favorite thing has been getting to know each and every one of you. Being a part of the many programs that BLS has to offer has allowed me to meet so many amazing people. Whether it be my amazing, talented friends I met through my years in theater or my equally talented friends whom I’ve sung with in chorus, BLS has opened the door for me to meet some of the greatest people. Although academics and other stressful factors have made this journey difficult for everyone, the bond we have as a grade is irreplaceable. The moments we’ve shared together are ones I will never forget, and I couldn’t have wished for a better class. We’ve watched each other grow up and mature, which makes the bond I’ve been talking about even more powerful. It was such an honor for me to be your Vice President this year, even if we didn’t get to do as much as we’d hoped because of COVID-19. I am so proud of every single one of you for pushing through some of the most challenging years of our lives. It is so sad to think that this is the end of our journey together, but rather than thinking of this as the end, let’s think of it as the beginning. This is our chance to take everything we’ve learned in these past four or six years and show the rest of the world what the class of 2021 is made of. I love all of you, and I know you will all go far. Success is our nature. Go Wolfpack!

Mia Merullo

Xiangan He

Treasurer

It’s that time, folks.

Some of us are more than eager to get out. Others, like me, may have the feeling that this all went by too quickly.

It feels like yesterday morning that I sat down in Ms. Gribaudo’s room as a mere sixie; a day gone by getting to know you all over the years.

And now, as the hour falls on us, the time for us to all skedaddle on outta here is leaving a bittersweet feeling in my heart.

I’m so excited to see all of you embark on the next step of your journey! At the same time (as I typically say), BLS was pretty good without the school part.

One of my favorite moments of BL without the S was jamming in Mr. Brownell’s room playing Guitar Hero and listening to “Shooting Stars” as junior year was coming to a close. The reason why it’s my favorite memory wasn’t particularly because the weight of schoolwork that had hung over my shoulders for a whole year was finally lifting or because we were all welcoming summer opportunities into our lives — it was because that moment in time was when I could enjoy the part of what made the most arduous public school experience in Boston not so miserable: the people.

No matter if you were breaking it down with B-Boy in the cafeteria or if you were studying for Olympiads or Certamen, those that you jammed out with surely added a special spice to your BLS life. For me, the enjoyment of my journey with many intellectual transitions was fueled by those around me. Luc, Danny, Jin and Ethan would be the best and most hilarious teammates in Certamen. I would enjoy cheesecake and talk about “stonks” with Ludo, Rick, Vinny and Thomas. Whenever I had downtime, I would enjoy tilting over League of Legends with Brandon, Will, Tom and others. There are many more names to go, but the point is: you’ve all made my BLS journey very meaningful, and I look forward to enjoying many more good times to come.

When it comes to takeaways from BLS, those you develop meaningful relationships with are one of the things that matter most.

Now, I bid you all one final farewell. You were all like shooting stars, burning in your blaze of glory to wherever you’re heading. I didn’t get to see you all for very long (especially given the circumstances of this year), but I still feel thankful that such rare people were a part of my BLS experience.

Unlike shooting stars though, I will have the immense pleasure of staying in touch with most of you (shoot me a text at 617-710-4886)!

For all the laughs, good times and being the realest, thank you all for being a part of this journey.

The stars are your limit, and the open vastness of the universe is your canvas.

Ave atque vale,

Xiangan

Mandy Sun

Secretary

Dear beautiful Class of 2021,

IT’S ALL OVER. As a sixie, I was always eager for my chance to inevitably scream at the top of my lungs those same words. But as we reach our destination, I’m scared to leave. I began to miss things that I never thought I would: the whiffs of AXE body spray intermingled with chicken fingers as we plunge ourselves through the stampede of sixies on our feet to the cafeteria, the odd cucumbers stuck on unreachable windows and the MSG filled saltiness of my 4 A.M. ramen as I cram the night before a test.

Perhaps I’m facing a huge case of Stockholm syndrome, or perhaps these quirky and seemingly insignificant traits of our school mean much more than we realize.

Just recently, I had my first driving lesson, and naturally, I bumped into one of you seniors by almost ramming into you — almost causing a car crash. While I was anxious and a bit scared to talk since I didn’t know you very well, a pleasant conversation littered full of BLS references, memories and our futures emerged, and I realized those whom you’ve never talked to in your six years at BLS will always be there for you, proud of you for following your path and accomplishing your goals. That dark cloud that had once loomed over our heads, that infamous economic inequality project and those equity assemblies with THE Steven Chen have forever knotted us together.

I’m so grateful to be among you inspiring, hilarious and passionate individuals. There’s no denying it: we’ve faced dark times at BLS with impending deadlines and our constant questioning of our own self-worth and abilities, but you should all be proud of those challenges you’ve faced because they are an assurance that you will do amazing things in the world. I think we can all agree that if we did BLS again, we would do it so much better. Remember that BLS is a microcosm of just the bigger world. Your next adventure will be somehow BLS-like. So rest assured that the next test you take or the next hike you make, you’ll grow and do better than the previous time.

It doesn’t matter who you were in high school and what, I know y’all will be the next trendsetters, changemakers and spiritual masters. But please follow your own path: a happy you makes a happy me.

And when you look back at your last year at BLS, I hope you don’t cringe. Because who you are today will become the doppelgängers you will be in the future.

While we might still be scared to leave and feel riddled with regret, we should be comforted to know that we’ll all only be one almost-accidental car crash away