Life 101 is an opportunity for second-semester Seniors to broaden their horizons and learn from their community and peers in a non-academic setting. Kate H ’25 says “My favorite part is all of the people that are there.” This is a common sentiment amongst participants, “My favorite part about Life 101 is getting to know the people around me on a deeper level. It reminds me that we are all going through something,” says Bee E ’25.
Having been a Heritage tradition for many years, started by Mr. Powers, Life 101 has been taken over by Ms. Selden and Mrs. Van Jacobs. Ms. Selden experienced Life 101 firsthand during her Senior year at Heritage, and Mrs. Van Jacobs had a similar activity at her high school. Both having enjoyed and learned from it they were happy to take over after Mr. Powers moved to The EPIC Campus. Kate says “I heard good things about it [Life 101] and one of my friends is a leader, I also got an invite from a previous Senior so I had to check it out.” Many students use Life 101 as a sort of free group therapy about growing up and living as adults. “I wanted to go because I knew other people going and because I like the idea of getting to talk about how much growing up sucks and is amazing at the same time,” continues Bee.
This activity is after school every other Thursday and lasts from 6 pm until 8 pm. During this time, the participants tackle the deeper elements of getting older and life itself. Based on the theme, each session will be different but will follow the same general structure. The advisors, Ms. Selden and Mrs. Van Jacobs, begin with a quote and a general idea of what the theme for the night will be. Then, there’s some sort of activity to enforce the idea physically and to get members to think about the theme on a deeper level. After the activity wraps up, the speaker of the night, who is most commonly one of the student leaders, gets into the more personal topic of the night. The student leaders share a song to kick off their talk that they believe sets up the ideas well.
During their talk, the leaders cover some of their personal experiences that encompass the theme and how it has affected them. While their talk covers a majority of the time allotted for Life 101, it is also meant to be the most relatable and thought provoking. “It [the student talks] gives me time to reflect on what is being said and be thoughtful about it” says Kate. Bee also says, “I think hearing a fellow student talk about their experiences is beneficial because they know first hand what is going on right now and what life growing up and being a teen is like right now.”
Life 101, if given the chance, can be extremely beneficial for all students. “I think Life 101 is very beneficial and has already helped me in numerous ways. I would absolutely recommend it to others,” says Bee. Kate continues this statement saying, “It is really beneficial for us to get out of our comfort zone and think critically. It also starts you thinking about further in the future than just after high school.” So, Seniors, if you are at all interested in coming to Life 101, the next meeting will be held on March 20th in the Library from 6-8 pm. As for any non-Seniors who are interested, I hope that you look forward to the opportunity in the future.