AlexPutneyDay14 5/21

Today is my last "official" day here at Putney. I had so many wonderful experiences that I don't even know where to begin! Being here has really had an impact on me. I'm going to miss many of the people here. I first thought that the students here would be judgmental or something along those lines. But here, it's the complet opposite. The people here are very open to meeting you. They aren't shy to have a conversation with you. My first day here was Sunday May 8th and I made 2 friends that day. Jeff and Eddy. They are real fun to hang around with. Eddy believes I'm coming here next year. He thinks that  was serious when I told him I'm coming next year. His heart will broken when he finds out that's not true! My first Monday here was bummy. Throughout my classes I was shy to talk or say anything. In some of the classes I knew the right answer but would not say anything because I was shy. After classes I would just be in my room by myself since I really didn't know anyone besides Eddy and Jeff. I kept lasting myself what am I doing here. I kept saying I don't belong here. It took some time to adjust to the life here and I wish I done that earlier. Now I'm going to miss this place a lot. Looking back I see how much I've grown into the community. I meet a lot of people here and it's going to feel weird when I go back home.

I'm going to miss the pick games we had everyday after lunch and dinner. I'm going to miss working in the barn or just walking around the large campus Putney has. I'm going to miss the beautiful scenes  Putney offers. The students. The vibe. The busy schedule.Practically everything. I've learned so much about myself throughout the 2 weeks I've been here. I never thought that this place would be for me. Time flew by extremely fast. I'm sad that I couldn't be here longer. I thought I would never say that the first few days I was here but now I am. This place is really special. It's unlike any other school I seen or heard about. It's so unique.

Social Dance was fun. At the beginning, Manny, Eddy, Jeff, and me were like what are we doing here. After a while the "do" was putting music we liked and hoped into the tent to dance. We were dancing and signing a lot. I was pretty surprised to see that nobody cared about how one danced. Some kids didn't know how to dance or were really off beat but still seemed to have fun. No don't seemed to laugh at them which was pretty cool. After the social dance I played FIFA with Jeff. My Saturday wasn't bad. It was entertaining. I was playing cards against humanities before the social dance with 5 other students. It was okay but it got boring after a while.

My last day was fun. I'm really going to miss the place. I'll think about many of the experiences I had here and will cherish them. I'm glad I came to Putney. It was a wonderful experience. 

AlexPutneyDay13 5/20

It's finally Friday! Except if feels nothing like Friday. There more likely,e a Wednesday. I guess it's because I can't technically go anywhere except be on campus. My Fridays would generally consist of hanging out with my friends but today it's more like working on a barn type of Friday. So far the days have been extremely fun. I just can't believe I have two days left of my Putney experience. It's been really enjoyable. Friday started out to be really foggy but it has been sunny as the day progressed. Today was my last day working in the barn. I'm going to miss the cows, talking them for walks, feeding them, taking them out, was fun. I'll probably never work in a barn again. The work wasn't bad  just because in a way, I'm used to physical work. I found ways to get the job done faster.


For the first time, I had an evening class. The funny thing is that, it wasn't class. We had ice cream and cupcakes since it was the last class. It was my first and last and I did nothing but eat ice cream and cupcakes. Isn't that great? But it was pretty chill since I talked with one of the seniors throughout the period. This Friday sort of felt like a Friday. Just a little tiny bit. But it was relaxing to just sit down and have a fun conversation with a lot of laughing. My last Friday at Putney will be remembered for a while!

AlexPutneyDay12 5/19

Thursday was Sing! day again. I didn't sing any songs mainly because I was always so lost when it came to the music sheet. Sometimes they would sing very fast to the point where I would be still on verse 1 and they would be on verse 2. It is very entertaining to watch people sing with a lot of enthusiasm. I still haven't gotten used to the fact that there's an hour to yourself. Technically it's an hour to see teachers if you need help of some sort. Conference block is like offices hours in my school. Only difference is that office hours is after school for only half an hour.

For the first time in a pick up game, we used the nets for football. We only played for about 15 minutes since we had to carry the nets across the fields. After the pick up game, I had class. After class I had running. Running was only 3 miles, so it wasn't a lot of running. After running I had about an hour to spare. When 4:30 came around, I went to barn. I was fooling around with a student because he believes I'm coming next year. It's extremely funny messing around with him. My day after barn was just relaxing. I really didn't do anything other than talk with some students.

AlexPutneyDay11 5/18

Wednesday was a half a day. I only had 2 classes. For once, I actually did something in sculpture. I helped a student cut metal and it was really fun to hang out with the student. Sculpture was my last class of the day and so I played football afterward. We played for quite a while. After playing football, I went into town to get some snacks. When I came back there was a frisbee game going on. I was intrigued to watch it and so I did. I never saw a frisbee game before and I probably never will see one again. The way frisbee is play is really about how fast can you lose your man and get into the N-Zone. I was amazed to see that it was about honor. There are no referees in frisbee. It's all about honesty, which is pretty interesting. Putney ended up losing the game. They wanted me to play but I really didn't want to because I never played frisbee before and I'm not good at it. The only thing I would have been useful for was my speed and I guess fitness. Most of the players, after a couple minutes, looked really tired. I could tell that they rarely focused on fitness. It seems that in frisbee, fitness means a lot. Also, my catching was inconsistent, so I was hesistant to play.

After the game was over, I went to go eat. When dinner time came around, I went to go play football again. The game lasted about an hour. After football, I went back to my room and was relaxing in bed watching Family Guy and Spotlight. 

AlexPutneyDay10 5/17

Honestly the days feel as if they are flying by. I'm becoming more engaged everyday with the community that the days feel so short. Since there is so much to do, the days fly by. I honestly want them to go slower. I realize that little by little I'm getting used to the school. I'm enjoying the school more and more. I feel as if by the hour, I realize I'm truly going to miss this place. My Tuesday went well. I had to work on essay today since Zoe assigned it to me today. It's due Thursday, so I believe in going to struggle! I'm still trying to get to having a whole hour during school to do what I please to a certain degree. In my school, it's 3 straight, lunch/group and then your last block. There aren't any breaks or "milk lunch." I'm looking forward to Wednesday!

AlexPutneyDay9 5/16

Monday was an ordinary day. I went to all my classes and did my activity afterward. The only thing that I didn't do since I got here was play football. There wasn't any pick games going on during lunch or after dinner. It felt weird not playing football. So movies were my escape from boredom during those times. One thing that was fun was walking a calf. It was new to me and I truly enjoyed it. The calf would get out of control but it would still obey me. Monday was a great day but it was really cold and windy. The climate changed drastically which I'm sort of used to since I'm from Jersey.

AlexPutneyDay8 5/15

Sunday was a day I never imagined was possible. I literally spent 12 hours doing nothing. I never spent a day in which I do absolutely nothing. My days are always busy. Every day I do something. Sunday was a struggle for me! On Sundays I usually go to church, eat at a restuarant, and then go out with a couple of friends. The only thing that I actually did was eat brunch and that was only like half an hour. Time moved incredibly slow. I never experienced a day in which I didn't do anything. It was really windy and cold so going outside wasn't an option. Now I know when to actually use the word bored!

AlexPutneyDay7 5/14

Today I was almost late to class if it wasn't for Leo. I woke up around 7:40 am but fell right back asleep and then woke up when Leo called me name. I would've been late to Algebra if it wasn't for him. It's strange for me to have class on Saturday. At Putney, they have 2 classes on Saturday. In my school, there are no classes on Saturday. It felt peculiar to me. There wasn't much to do after class. I had about a 5-hour gap of doing nothing. I saw some of the lacrosse game in which the guys did well.  I went to go see a horse that was owned by one of the students. I went to the art studio to hang out with one of the students as they were working on their project. We had a fun conversation about a lot of things.

After dinner I played some Fifa with a couple of guys. I also played basketball with some of the students. It turns out that basketball isn't for me. Then we had a pick up game of football and that ran for about 2 hours. That is what consisted of my Saturday here at Putney. It was strange to not go do something on Saturday, since I was on campus and you couldn't go anywhere without something that had an engine and 4 wheels (car). But it was still a fun Saturday.

AlexPutneyDay6 5/13

Today was very entertaining. I proceeded with my regular agenda. I got to play football during lunch and after dinner. I also was being attacked by nerf guns. Someone of the students didn't allo me to enter my dorm! Everytime I tried, they would shoot at me. The bullets didn't hurt unless it hit my head. But since I couldn't enter my dorm I just went to the field house and saw a student named Manny kicking a ball around by himself. So we then decided to play two-touch. Two-touch is basically being in your own half and try to score from their with only two touches on the ball. It was fun, I beat like 15-8. But we played "last goal wins" and he scored on me. We both laughed about it. Then came barn, I had to clean the manuveur from a trailer. The smell in the trailer was odious. The highlight of my day is always playing football. It's very entertaining. Many people try to do tricks but can't, others miss hitting the ball and it's just really funny. Every time I get ball I have about 3 people on me. There's this one girl who will always grab me so I won't get the ball. It's entertaining to see her follow me everywhere I go but I still beat her on the 1v1 when I get ball!

AlexPutneyDay5 4/12

Thursday started out with chemistry class. The students did presentations on types of ways to get cancer. After class we had a little snack. Then, there was an assembly called Sing. I pictured it to be like in my school were the songs are already summarized. I thought we would only sing like 2-3 songs like in my school. It turns out that they have a book full of songs. The whole purposes of the assembly was to just sing. A guy would come around to make sure you were singing. In my school it's your choice if you want to sing. A lot of times it depends on your mood. Here, everybody was involved, even the faculty. It was something wonderful to experience. The day proceeded with the the usual. Finishing classes and playing soccer at lunch.


I had running and fitness as my activity and we ran for about 6 miles or so. I was surprised to see that the person that finish second, after me, was 20 minutes behind. I was relaxing for 20 minutes until I saw the next person come back. I was really surprised that it would take that long. People have told me that Putney doesn't focus on physical activities which is something new to me. Athletics highly valued in my school. But after running, I had about an hour to relax. Then came barn, which was real quick. I only work for about half an hour since we worked really fast to get everything done. I played soccer again after dinner. It was really entertaining since both the teams could not score. We were playing golden goal and the ball would not go in. It was really fun.

AlexPutneyDay4 5/11

Wednesday was a "sleep in" day. We were allowed to sleep a little longer than usual. Classes started at 9:15 am then the regular 7:15 am. There were only two classes than the regular three. Classes were over by the afternoon which is new to me. I finish class at 3:10 pm everyday. Knowing that classes were over by 12:45 in the afternoon was pretty cool. After lunch I played soccer with a couple of students. We played for about 50 minutes. After the pick up game, I played Fifa with a student named Jeff. It was pretty entertaining.

I went to see the lacrosse team of the school play with a student named Manny. I was told that the team wasn't good. I thought they were just bad. After I saw the game, I realized just how bad they were. The team lost 15-2. The team didn't look aggressive or looked like they wanted to win. They looked like they were here just to play and have fun. At Benedict's it's nothing like that. Kids play competive and agressive. But Putney doesn't focus on athletics, they do it for fun. I worked at the barn again, which will be everyday besides Saturday and Sunday anyways. The barn is really interesting to work in. But it was the usual procedure after that; shower, dinner, and hanging out with a couple of students. It was a nice day overall.

AlexPutneyDay3 5/10

 Tuesday started with a class called American studies. It was like any English class. After class was over we had muffins as snacks, which is great because I was hungry after an hour of having breakfast.  The interesting part was that we had over 2 hours to do what we pleased. Many of the students, however, use this time to catch up on homework or meet with teachers. It is different from my school in which we go to 3 straight classes and then lunch or group.

After classes were over, we had lunch. The students here, that play soccer, usually play soccer during lunch for about 45 minutes since lunch is about an hour. It is really fun to play soccer here. The students don't take the game serious enough to have get into aggressive arguments like in my school sometimes. A lot of the students don't know how to play soccer but they still do anyways, and it goes to show just how much the school is connected. They don't judge each other. After lunch I had sculpture class. For class, we went on a field trip about 5 ,I tunes away from the school. We have saw about 5 10 feet horses made out of metal. 1 of the horses was a baby. It was really amazing seeing the artwork. It must have taken time for the sculpture to have done the work.

After classes were finally over, I had an activity called frisbee. I have never played frisbee seriously before. I thought it was just for fun but it's an actually sport. The students here play in a league. I, for one, did horrible. I have never thrown a frisbee before the activity. It was interesting to see how they play frisbee. But the team looks very unorganized. It's run more by the students them the actual coach. The coach left about 1 into pratice. The captain ran practically the whole session. Kids left when they felt like it. I was surprised. But the school isn't very athletic. They focus more on education than actual sports.

AlexPutneyDay 2 5/9

         My first actually day being a Putney student was cool. The classes were very interesting. Sculpture caught my attention. It was different. The students build their own thing using the equipment on their on. It was more like progressive learning. Everything was the usual. During each day from like 10-11 am kids do what they please. It could be sports or socially related. It was nice to take a break academically. After classes were over., I had an activity, which was running/fitness. It was nice to interact with other students.

        One thing that was completely new to me was working in a farm. I thought I would be picking up maneuver or something like that'll it wasn't that. The task I had to do were very simply. I was use to the type of work because I sometimes help my dad with landscape. The work was easy. It was fun to milk a cow. I have never done that before and it was really fun to try something new. The experience was great and I want to see what tomorrow holds for me.

AlexPutneyDay 1

              My first thought about Putney was that it was a typical regular high school filled with a bunch of white people. When I arrived here, I was actually stupefied. I felt like I was in a different world. I was completely wrong. Putney is a very small town in Vermont. The school itself has about 200 students. I thought students dress "normal" here. I was completely wrong about that. The students here do what they please and practically wear what they please. The campus is different. I pictured it being a big building with many rooms. At the Putney School it's completely different. The buildings are all over the place and they don't look like actually classrooms but rather like rooms.


               The students are filled with confidence. It's like they don't judge each other. Being here has a different vibe. Something unusual here is that people walk around barefoot. I thought it was joke when someone told me about it, until I actually saw it. I was supified. To me, it's "abnormal," but here, it's normal. my first day went well, I met many new people. They're all very friendly. I thought I would be sitting by myself at the table during dinner but it's not like that at all. They would call me over to sit with them. I can't wait to see what the days will bring me.