Although the last time I was actually in the building on 78 Avenue Louis Pasteur was before Romulus founded Rome, I can remember that among the many sleep deprived faces, I always had one friend who had a radiant smile even after that chem exam that he “failed” or that timed writing that was a “disaster.” If you already had the privilege of meeting John, you will know that he really is the jack of all trades and somehow still the master of all. He writes for the Argo, plays clarinet, carefully curates the impeccable Latin V Instagram captions, wins science competitions with research that is way beyond my understanding and even with all that he manages to find time to document the thrilling and absolutely adorable life of his cat, Cupid. Seriously, go follow his cat on Instagram (@lechatcupid) right now; I can wait… If somehow you haven’t met John, I’m virtually 100 percent sure you will soon when he inevitably makes headlines for his scientific breakthroughs or brilliant journalism.

In sixie year, we were separated by the entire Franklin cluster hallway and a year in math, but we more than made up for that in eighth grade when we shared the Beta (aka best) cluster. Together, we welcomed “the world of gray” with Ms. Stuppard, “answered the call to be great” with Mr. Gibbons and somehow found humor in Mr. Pitts screaming at Wind Ensemble to count correctly.

It is a rare occurrence that someone is not only willing, but actually interested in hearing about oboe reeds, master classes, Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, that new English pastoral symphony that I just found on YouTube Music and cannot shut up about… you get the idea. Believe it or not, John really has endured all that and is still willing to talk to me — a truly amazing feat!

Jokes aside, John is one of the most understanding, caring, and delightful people you could meet. With interests that span as wide as Caesar’s conquest, he always has something new to discuss or something exciting happening. Whether it’s stories from RSI (which I only recently found out was short for Research Summer Institute, insert facepalm here), proclamations that Catullus is our self-care king (otium is indisputably important!) or that video he sent of Ben Zander’s yelp while coaching Mahler 5, I am perpetually entertained.

Thank you for five years of friendship, rant sessions, essay editing and unconditional emotional support. Luckily, we still have four more years to spend at school together, which really is a good thing because you are going to have to help me get through math gen eds. Even after that, I can’t wait to see everything you will accomplish.

“The world isn’t ready for you” seems to be such a cliche statement these days, but in this case I believe it is completely and totally applicable. So with that, watch out world, there’s no way you can prepare yourself for the greatness John Lin is about to bestow on us.