March 25, 2014
When discussing the novel The Great Gatsby with students, one line that always seemed to make an impact was Fitzgerald's description of Tom Buchanan: "one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax."
Every time those words came up, I would be reminded both of the richness of possibility that accompanies our youthful view of the world and how, as we grow older, our youthful assessment of things is inevitably dampened by the lessons of experience.
Ages ago, when I was in high school, my friends and I were always in agreement about the godlike abilities of the best player on the rugby team, the best guitarist in the rock band, the smartest kid in Physics class. For us, there was no question that national or maybe even global fame and fortune were the destiny of these talented peers of ours. I don't think it's much different today. In schools across our nation, young people see the excellence before them on court and in classroom, on stage and in stadium, and cannot imagine there is better talent elsewhere.
Older heads appreciate the talent among the students knowing that the cheers may never again ring as loud as they do in high school. The world puts us in our place soon enough. We understand why it's a good thing for our students to leave Good Counsel with some of that Xaverian value of humility.
But, once in a while, we see something truly extraordinary from an individual student. It feels like we are there not near the end of some type of "acute limited excellence," but at the beginning of something that, God willing, promises to mature and have the power to dazzle well beyond high school. I saw something remarkable this past weekend in our production of West Side Story. Under the direction of Ms. Kristina Friedgen, our students worked together beautifully on a famously difficult show. The result is a triumph and makes all of our school community proud. It's not too late to go see the show. And you'll see what I mean about that prodigious talent.
