Consider this story about unexpected learning as we set off on our summer breaks:

So there I was, shaking with fear, at the top of the double speed slide at Water Wizz, across from Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, Rhode Island. I was 9 years old that summer, and had just topped the height requirement posted at the bottom of the seemingly interminable set of stairs. My cousin Allen, two years younger, but at least a few inches taller, had been goading me all week about giving these slides a try. He must have gone down them at least three dozen times in the week we had been away, but I hadn’t been able to muster the courage to take one ride. And had that last day gone differently, I would still be a speed slide dropout.

Allen finally wore me down on our last day in Westerly. His goading had turned into a convincing pitch of which the owners of Water Wizz would have been proud. He told me how safe it was. He told me how quickly it would end. “Just close your eyes and hold onto your mat. It will be over before you know it,” he said encouragingly. But it was his final pitch that got me.

“It is just fun, Col. Don’t you just want to do something because it is fun?” And just like that I realized that my thrill-seeking younger cousin had shown me up. There I was, overthinking things as usual, while he had the time of his life on all the water slides. And so I did it—and it was a blast, just as he said it would be.

My lesson in speed sliding was the first time in my life that I can remember being taught something worthwhile by someone who was younger than me; it certainly has not been the last. Now I get the pleasure of working with all of you, and learning something from you each and every day.

As you head off into your summer adventures this year, remember to have fun, and trust me, try the speed slide!

And for you eighth graders: know that you will be missed. Know that we care way past 2:45 p.m. each day. Know how much we have enjoyed giving you just a little lift and watching you soar. Know that some of us who have known you since your first days at BMS marvel at just how far you have come. And finally, know that only you can determine just how far you will go.