How I Grew in the Greenhouse – A senior’s perspective from the class of 2020
Chloe Switzer was the 2020 recipient of the Inger Hanus Memorial Gift for Seniors. Below is her winning essay.
Chloe Switzer
A nervous and shy 12-year-old girl followed one of the Greenhouse faculty into a room to have her interview before her family began attending the Greenhouse. She was asked many questions, all of which she answered, but with some uncertainty and timidity. When she was led back to her family, she was afraid she hadn’t answered sufficiently to be accepted into the school. After several more questions and activities for the whole family, they were told they would be more than welcome at the Greenhouse. That girl was me, and the years that followed changed me in so many ways. Once I started attending the Greenhouse, I grew in many ways, and without it, I wouldn’t be the young woman I am today. To me, the Greenhouse is not only my school, but it really is my greenhouse where I grew, flourished, and blossomed, and where I acquired knowledge, friends, and grew in confidence and in my faith.
Before attending the Greenhouse, I was the not the fondest of learning. The curriculum my mom used previously was not my favorite and I struggled to enjoy learning and engage myself in my schoolwork. I never knew that school could be fun until the Greenhouse. I started in 7th grade and right away knew I would enjoy it immensely. Not only did I look forward going to school every week, but I even enjoyed doing my homework at home! The interactive, hands-on style of the Greenhouse drew me in and allowed me to enjoy every moment of class. History had been my least favorite class when I had been homeschooling at home, but at the Greenhouse, the events seemed so real and exciting, I loved learning about each one and soon History became my favorite class. Art class allowed me to unleash my artistic talents and to try new things. I was already really into the performing arts, so I enjoyed singing and dancing in that class, as well as learning new techniques and challenging myself in the Greenhouse plays. Science was so exciting with all the labs and experiments, I almost felt like I was a scientist myself. Each core day class and elective I took proved to me that learning can be fun, and it should be.
One of the best things I have attained at the Greenhouse is so many amazing friendships. The Greenhouse is an incredible community full of amazing godly people. Before attending the Greenhouse, I had always been extremely shy and introverted. After only a few weeks of Greenhouse, I all of a sudden found myself befriending nearly every person in my class! The next year I switched core days but I once again made many new friends in my new class. Once high school began, I already knew several of
the people in my class. I soon became friends with all of them and now we are all best friends, and I am so thankful for my amazing class! Despite many of us going our separate ways next year, I plan on keeping in touch as much as possible because they are some of my favorite people in the world.
The biggest reason I am forever thankful that I attended the Greenhouse is because of the confidence it gave me in myself and in my faith. As said before, I was painfully shy and quiet. A big aspect that helped me gain confidence was the friends I made along the way. Because of their desire to be my friend and their desire to hang out with me and get to know me more, I realized that I can actually be a fun person and that people do like me. Besides my friends, my teachers also helped me grow in confidence. They encouraged me to learn and try new things. It turns out I actually enjoy public speaking, but I never would have tried it or had the confidence to if it weren’t for the encouragement that my teachers and classmates gave me to try new things and to step out of my comfort zone. I grew in my faith as well, especially during high school when my teachers would encourage me to evaluate my faith journey and strive to grow as a Christian. Every aspect of class was geared towards Christ and I never went one week without having some assignment that forced me to think deeper about my faith.
If it were not for the Greenhouse, I would not be the person I am today. It gave me so many things I never knew I needed. The Greenhouse has been my greenhouse where I grew, flourished, and blossomed, and where I acquired knowledge, friends, and grew in confidence and in my faith. Through my years at the Greenhouse I was able to discover who I really am, what things I enjoy, what things I want to do, and most importantly, who I am as a Christian. Because of that, I will forever be thankful for the Greenhouse.
About the Inger Hanus Memorial Gift for Seniors
Inger Hanus was a home-schooling mom who got involved in the Greenhouse back in 2006. She loved everything Greenhouse had to offer: the classical curriculum, plays, art shows and the wax museums. Inger loved the staff and families of Greenhouse as well, with many families becoming lifelong friends. Inger went to be with the Lord in 2012. The Inger Hanus Memorial gift was created to remember Inger and her love for the Greenhouse. The gift is awarded each year to a student finishing their high school career whose life was positively impacted by being part of this community.