A Letter to My Fifth-Grade Self

by Henry Ackemann '28

Dear Fifth-Grade Me,

There were two instances where somebody really made me feel like I belonged in my first year at WIS. Unfortunately, I joined during the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant we started the first half of the year with virtual learning. On my first day, we were almost immediately put into breakout rooms with only one other person for an assignment, and I was put with Marin. He acted like I had always been at WIS. He treated me like a friend he had known for a long time, and that made me feel like I belonged.

The second instance came later in the year, while we were doing hybrid learning. Every recess, when we went outside, Lucas C., Nico, and I would play Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. Just like Marin, they treated me like I had been there since the beginning.

In the weeks leading up to my first weeks of school, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make any friends because of virtual learning. Looking back on it, it did quite the opposite. Instead of being forced into the social scene immediately, I was slowly integrated. Zoom breakout rooms introduced me to people one by one, so I didn’t have to meet everyone at once.

The biggest habit I wish I’d started sooner was watching what I ate. When I was a kid, I would eat enough food to feed three adults and make the excuse that I was a growing boy. When I did my passion project in Grade 10 about how food affects mood, I realized that food affected more than just how I looked. It’s the difference between a bad day and a good one. Because of this project, I started watching what I ate. I didn’t completely cut out unhealthy foods; I just ate them in much smaller portions and ate more of the healthy foods. This one simple change improved my happiness, and I unintentionally lost weight while gaining muscle.

A mistake I’m secretly glad I made in Grade 5 was at a chess tournament. I entered it with a couple of my friends and ended up facing off against one of them. Right before the tournament started, I had told him all my strategies, and that ended up being the mistake that cost me the game. I’m glad I made this mistake because it taught me a lesson: in a competitive environment, anything goes.

I want my fifth-grade self to know that we found things we are very passionate about: finance and soccer. We want to pursue them after high school, and hopefully after college.

One thing I’d put in my backpack is A fidget. I was very fidgety in Grade 5, and a fidget toy would have helped me stay focused.

Five years from now, I’ll be graduating college. I’m hoping to graduate with a major in economics or finance and a minor in computer science.

Sincerely,
Me (Grade 11)