Marissa Day ’14 | Managing Editor

Grosse Pointe. Two words that cause me to feel both exasperated and calms me at the same time. Grosse Pointe, the place where I’ve lived for a good majority of my life, the place where I’ve made the best friends I could possibly ask for. I’ve never felt especially connected to the place, but with graduation coming up and my impending transfer from high school to college, Grosse Pointe makes me stop and think, remembering the good it has given me.

I was always wary of the fact that I’m different from well over 90 percent of Grosse Pointers. Being a Chinese girl as well as adopted meant that I never really fit in with everyone else, and it was definitely something people noticed about me. Asian. I hated my ethnicity when I was younger because it seemed to be the one thing keeping me from connecting with other kids and feeling comfortable with myself, even though I know now that it was partly my projections that made me so insecure. My race caused me to feel inferior to others, I wanted to look like this person or that person, and I knew deep down I never could.

This was the first time I remember hating Grosse Pointe. I resented the fact that my parents moved us here to start first grade when elementary school kids were already making cliques and had known each other since birth. Why couldn’t I have stayed in Detroit with my friends? There is nothing worse than being moved to a new place and having to start making yourself known all over again, but Grosse Pointe made me so insecure that I desperately wanted to fit in based on physical appearances.

There were plenty of times where I knew my background made people unsure of how to act around me, but Grosse Pointe is also the place where I’ve met some of the nicest, funniest and truly caring people ever who would do anything they can to help me if I asked them. They may not be “popular” or typical Grosse Pointers who follow every fashion trend and carry some new designer handbag every month, but they are without a doubt the most honest and trustworthy people you could find anywhere. I know that if they hadn’t grown up in Grosse Pointe where they learned to treat one another with respect and adopted the caring natures they have now than my time here would be completely miserable for me.

My parents said they moved us here for the education system. When I was seven, it sounded like the lamest excuse ever. At 18, I can appreciate their motivation behind the move as I went through one of the best public education systems a student could want. The teachers (well most of them) are truly able to connect with each and every one of their students on an individual level and help them find their hidden potential. Academics are so important for college admissions offices, and the teaching staff at Grosse Pointe South doesn’t get the credit they deserve for helping us students to find our college.

I’m preparing to graduate within the next couple weeks, and the only thing I’m unsure of is my feelings towards the Grosse Pointes. I’ve harbored ill-will against it for so long and for several reasons, but I never stopped to appreciate the things its done for me or the unique people that live in them. I don’t know what life will bring me a year from now, but I do know one thing: Grosse Pointe isn’t going to change, and that’s ok.