#gjcl

I never knew I'd be a mother

Without a child havin' graced ma womb

I never knew I'd be a mother

I should have been born 2,000 years ago. Don’t get me wrong; I’m perfectly fine being a member of the Facebook generation, but I could have been an even better Roman.

Since starting Latin class in the eighth grade, I have been intrigued by Roman culture. It is invigorating to learn about the lives of such an ancient people. I am overwhelmed by the possibility that someone like me thousands of years later can be exposed to ideas, culture, and language from Roman times. Studying Latin transports my mind to the Mediterranean, two millennia ago. That is the magic of the ancient language.

Translating to me is a puzzle. Although the works we study are widely read and discussed, somehow when I am reading it in class it feels like a private conversation between me and the text. Each time I read through a Latin passage, I unearth new meanings that I had previously overlooked. Academically, the language has challenged and intrigued me; socially, it has introduced me to the most outstanding group of people I have met in my high school years.

Latin Club has taught me how the bonds of family can extend beyond blood relations. At my first Latin convention in the eighth grade I realized that I had signed on not only to take a class, but also to join a family. The upperclassmen welcomed my peers and me with open arms, helping us prepare for tests and navigate the convention’s campus. They made us feel welcome and at home.

On my first night at convention, the entire Walton delegation met on one of the athletic fields for the most iconic event of the weekend: chariot racing. That’s right. Chariot racing. Each school had their own chariot, which got pulled across the field by strong upperclassmen in a race to the finish line. Cheering on the Walton team made me feel like I was in the Circus Maximus, supporting my favorite faction. The best part of the night was not the two minute race but all the camaraderie that was built around it. Some of the more experienced attendees had brought picnic blankets which they spread out on the grass near the course. They shared blankets and stories with my peers and me. By the end of the night we had grown closer as a club. We were all unified. One club. One community. The bonds forged on those picnic blankets are worth more to me than any race victory.

My interactions with upperclassmen in Latin club did not stop there. The friendships I formed at my first convention continue to this day. Those students taught me the Latin Club values of community, acceptance, and fellowship. During last year’s convention I was my school’s athletic coordinator, a job which required I be at every athletic event. Since most of the time they were scattered all around the convention campus, I was exhausted by Saturday night. Pair that with the fact that I had not slept more than three hours the night before, and needless to say I was barely functioning. At our nightly meeting, the entire delegation from my school meets and discusses the events of the day. On Saturday night, it is customary for us to have pizza. As one of the officers, I was tasked to help with distribution. One of my fellow officers, a senior named Jimmy, could tell I was completely drained. Each time the president would call out a pizza order, Jimmy would hurry to fill it so that I wouldn’t have to.

“Don’t worry about it, Erin, I got it” he reassured me. I smiled, and gratefully sat down. I was born with an older sister, but I realized that night that I had an older brother as well. The Latin family always looks out for each other.

Just as I was shaped and mentored by the older students in Latin Club, I have tried to be involved and invested in the lives of the current underclassmen. I am proud to be the person younger members ask for class scheduling advice, or the person they ask to edit their AP Language essays at 11 p.m. Although on some nights helping them means my hours of sleep are reduced, I would not have it any other way.

One of my biggest regrets from High School was probably getting so disconnected from Latin and JCL. The times I spent in Latin were some of the best in my life.

So my school got to convention and realized that we had no cheer for roll call—actually, no cheer at all. So my friend came up with a little something for roll call at the last minute. It was too good not to share...

I like big armies and I cannot lie!

You other Romans can't deny!

When a Gaul walks in with an itty-bitty sword

And a roundshield in your face

yesterday was the last day of the 2013 GJCL latin convention, my last ever state convention as a JCL-er.

first of all, i must apologize for not writing this up yesterday.  as soon as i got home and showered, i crashed til like 2 AM, so now i've been up for 4 and a half hours now, doing homework and trying to write this the best that i can.

i've started this many times over, but nothing comes out right.  i might as well post the latest version of this.

when i was standing among the baggage and sleeping bags at the bus canopy on friday morning, it still hadn't hit me that i was about to depart for my last state convention as a high schooler.  to be honest, it didn't really hit me until fellowship on that last night when i got up there with the rest of the seniors and janice started talking.  as she spoke, i thought to myself, "my god, how can i sum up the past three years of my latin experience in a small, sleep-deprived speech?  how can i describe the immensities of responsibility and the solemnity of loyalty that i have felt with this family?  how can i illustrate the highest mountaintops and the deepest trenches of emotion with my voice?"  and i tried to mentally prepare an outline of my speech, i really did, but i'm so sorry that it came out so broken and mangled and lacking.  so in writing instead, here is my original speech that was in my head which never made it out to you guys.  hopefully, the derpy fog speech will make more sense:

i know that a lot of you guys didn't really get to know me all too well this year, especially you underclassmen, and i apologize for that.  i'm more reticent than the other officers (and yes, i am an officer), though no less caring, so please do not think that i feel less than the others.  i'm so sorry for not getting to know so many of you better.  i can only hope that this will demonstrate my emotions well enough.

my three years in latin feel like a fog that has settled into the early morning soundlessly and wordlessly, expecting nothing in return, yet surrounding me as if to always comfort me.  i don't know where it came from, but there needs not be reason for the camaraderie that has always accompanied latin from the start.  all that i know is that my latin family has and is always there for me in all hours of my life.  it's a beautiful and gentle fog that has provided a blanket when i needed comfort, a fabric of support when i needed encouragement, an air of solidarity when i needed community.  but my life is starting to dawn and as i head off to college, i find that the fog is starting to dissipate.  i'll no longer be in high school, and though i plan on continuing latin and the classics in college and beyond, i know that it'll never be the same and the fog will not come back.  it's tragic and as hard as i try to convince myself that it's not the end, that it's never the end, it still makes my throat tighten up when i'm grasping at the thin mist that's leaving me behind.  or rather, the fog that i'm leaving behind with the dawning sun.  for all the things that are disappearing before my very eyes, though, i know that with daybreak, there will be other signs of that fog that once existed in my life: the dew drops on the grass, the moisture that seems to hang about the air, the smell of water in the atmosphere.  through these, i will always remember what an impact the JCL has had on my life and the memories that i share with my latin family.  through these, i will never forget you guys.  the bright future is ahead, but there's always time to stop and smell the roses.  and when i do, i'll see the dew on the petals and always be reminded of the greatest happiness i had with you all.

there is nothing i regret doing for latin.