One of 360: Ally D. ’25

For me, home is Latham, NY, and I live there with my mom, dad, and sister. We also have a pet fish named Peacock (one of many, I am sad to say that we have quite an extensive fish graveyard in my backyard). Even though I live in New York, my family and I used to go to Thailand every year to see my family that lives there, so I consider it a sort of second home. Since COVID, we haven’t been able to go back, but I am excited to go this year!

I first learned about Emma through the GirlSummer camp, which I have been doing since 3rd grade. Honestly, the first thing I remember was that the food was amazing. I loved the buttered pasta that they always had at lunch, and sometimes they would have eggplant pizza, which sounds gross but was actually my favorite lunch. School-wise, what I love about Emma is the sense of community that we have. It’s something that you can’t always find in other schools, but I’m so grateful that we have it here!

I have been swimming since I was 6 years old, but I used to hate being in the water. According to my parents, I used to despise being in the water until I saw my cousins having fun swimming in the pool and I wanted to do it with them. So my mom signed me up for lessons, and I’ve been swimming ever since. I think my favorite thing about swimming is that feeling you get when you've finished a hard set, and you feel so proud of just finishing. I also love racing. When you beat a personal record or win your event, it just feels so rewarding, like all the hard work and effort you put in was worth it.

I love to read, but I also like writing. I do a little bit of writing here and there, but I’m so jealous of people who seem to effortlessly write such beautiful stories and poems. I think it is an amazing skill to be able to create worlds with only words, and it’s something I aspire to be able to do one day.

I don’t think I have a favorite tradition per se, but I love all the cute community norms we have, like holding the door for one another, saying thank you when we put up the plates, the senior triangle. It adds to the sense of community, and it’s a fun little quirk that I think will stick with me past high school. Even out of school, I find myself holding the doors for other people and unconsciously avoiding all patches of grass to make sure I don’t get triangled.*