Those Left Behind

By Su-Ji Lim

Laughter and chatter filled the air as choir students settled into the bus that would take them to the Penang International Airport. There, they would fly to Bangkok and attend the Massed Choir festival at ISB (International School of Bangkok). While the sun shone above the choir students in the bus, a gray cloud loomed over four other choir students, including myself. They were destined for something else. These four choir students, who all happened to be seniors, had to sacrifice the choir trip to take the SAT.

Some people jokingly criticized them for being overly studious, but in the perspective of these students, their future was more important than a one-time trip. According to Lydia Kim (12),

"The decision to stay wasn't very difficult to make. I think that learning to prioritize what is important for my near future and not dwelling on the initial disappointment is important."

Jackson Miller (12) adds on to this idea of prioritizing by saying, "It's unfortunate that the trip fell on a testing weekend, but there is just so much going on at Dalat that it is impossible to do everything." 

With their futures in mind, these choir students decided to stay. Whereas during B-block on Friday, October 5^th, the choir students at Bangkok were warming up their vocal cords, the ones in Penang were in the library, furiously scribbling down answers on practice SAT tests or completing homework to make time for SAT preparation in the evening.

That night, some students went to bed early, others late, but nervousness was etched alike on every face. As seniors, this would be their last, or second to last for some, chance to take the SAT before the hectic schedule of college application deadlines set in. Falling asleep was no easy task, but eventually everyone dropped off to a troubled sleep.

The next morning, the students woke up at an unfamiliar hour of 6 a.m. After hastily gulping down some food to power up their brains for the grueling task ahead and making sure they had enough 2B pencils, snacks, their passport, and other documents, the students rushed out the door toward school.

Upon arrival, they were greeted with the faces of their fellow seniors and a couple of juniors. After hearing instructions from Mr. Dobson, the school counselor, the choir students, heart racing, palms sweating, filed into line to enter the testing rooms.

Let’s hope our sacrifice was worth it.