50p
Hope House Memories
At Brentwood, it’s no secret that every student creates lifelong memories within their houses. A house that may mean very little to you when you first arrive, eventually becomes the most important part of the Brentwood experience. There’s one house that I believe stands out from all the rest - literally. It's new and very far from all the other houses - Hope House.
Hope is a place where so many girls come in with different backgrounds and embrace the character and weirdness of each other. It’s amazing how people that are so different, mesh so well making our house culture so strong. Everyone knows that one day we’ll have to say goodbye to each other, but something that I’m just realizing as a Grad of 2020, is that I'm going to have to say goodbye to the house.
To the house that has been my rock through all my experiences I’ve had at Brentwood, thank you. At the end of every day, no matter what happened, I knew I could always go back to my cozy dorm room at home. I’ll miss the music room in the basement, a place where any girl can go to play the piano, sit on a bean bag, scream her heart out, have deep talks with her friends, do prep, practice interhouse acapella, cry and laugh; a guaranteed safe space for any Hopeling. If you’re looking for a space to have a slumber party, the sunroom at the end of the third floor hallway will keep your late-night secrets and store all your junk food. The bathrooms hold so many memories for all Hope girls. I would say we definitely have the nicest bathrooms but even with the luxury of that, there are still moments where gross things are found. Although it can be frustrating in the moment, the stories make for really good memories we love to laugh at.
The shower stalls, a space where you can catch up with your friends in the morning before class or have shower parties together after sport. You can always count on hearing good music during these times. Sneaking into the bathroom after bedtimes for absolutely no reason is always reassuring because the Hope House bathrooms are a place of bonding and mirror selfies after fancy Brentwood events. The lighting for putting on makeup up and taking pictures never lets us girls down.
The pathway between the hedges from the parking lot to Hope House that only Hope girls use doesn't seem like much when we're tired and cranky walking to breakfast in the morning. Looking back, this pathway was where our rabbit family had their cute little baby bunnies, where many of us took countless morning streaks for Snapchat, where some of us struggled to walk through on crutches and the stairs at the top of the pathway are a place many Hope girls know you can always go to sit and talk with someone on a sunny day.
On Saturday nights it’s pretty much guaranteed that in the hallway at the back of the house, first floor, you can find a girl picking up her Panago pizza at the totem pole on the other side of the door we all wish was unlocked so we don't have to walk all the way around the house when coming from Gillespie Field or the Foote Center. Walking through the path between the Desandolis’ house and Allard feels so pointless when there's a door right there. I know we all understand what it's like to run through that path with muddy shoes having a minute left until 7:15 sign in. This door leads you to the soccer pitch and the tennis courts where all the girls can see the things people get up to on Sunday afternoons. The things Hope girls witness from having this view are things we can all relate to creating good conversations between us all.
Our house is a bit far from other houses and that may seem bad to some people, but being able to turn left when you walk out of Crooks Hall instead of right is a small detail I will miss immensely. Being able to turn left from Crooks means you're a Hope girl and you know you're walking back home. Being able to see the parking lot, watching all the teachers, day students and guests arrive is something you learn to appreciate after all those years. It's a reminder that people work so hard at Brentwood to make it a place where we all want to be. You can always count on the kitchen that is locked for a quarter of the year to have dishes in the sink and Sunlight lemon dish soap in that fancy bottle.
Although sometimes we leave our kitchen a mess, I know we all love our kitchen because we can make Kraft Dinner, noodles and sit on the couch and watch scary movies with each other or have dance parties before Monday house meetings. Lastly, the Tuck Shop is a place where you may hate going to pick up your phones and shoes, but what you don't realize is it becomes such a routine to wait at that door outside the first floor bathroom.
To all the Hope girls reading this, know that every single girl that passes through those big doors that lead into the foyer - which we all hate vacuuming for house jobs and where we forget our shoes - will be part of your life. We all understand these special parts of our house.
Goodbye Hope House, I will miss hanging out in the co-ed common room on Sunday and seeing the shock on guests' faces when they realize we have a bathroom they can use. Who knew that Pink and Blue would mean so much to us?
Asia Copp, Hope House Captain, 2020
Hope is a place where so many girls come in with different backgrounds and embrace the character and weirdness of each other. It’s amazing how people that are so different, mesh so well making our house culture so strong. Everyone knows that one day we’ll have to say goodbye to each other, but something that I’m just realizing as a Grad of 2020, is that I'm going to have to say goodbye to the house.
To the house that has been my rock through all my experiences I’ve had at Brentwood, thank you. At the end of every day, no matter what happened, I knew I could always go back to my cozy dorm room at home. I’ll miss the music room in the basement, a place where any girl can go to play the piano, sit on a bean bag, scream her heart out, have deep talks with her friends, do prep, practice interhouse acapella, cry and laugh; a guaranteed safe space for any Hopeling. If you’re looking for a space to have a slumber party, the sunroom at the end of the third floor hallway will keep your late-night secrets and store all your junk food. The bathrooms hold so many memories for all Hope girls. I would say we definitely have the nicest bathrooms but even with the luxury of that, there are still moments where gross things are found. Although it can be frustrating in the moment, the stories make for really good memories we love to laugh at.
The shower stalls, a space where you can catch up with your friends in the morning before class or have shower parties together after sport. You can always count on hearing good music during these times. Sneaking into the bathroom after bedtimes for absolutely no reason is always reassuring because the Hope House bathrooms are a place of bonding and mirror selfies after fancy Brentwood events. The lighting for putting on makeup up and taking pictures never lets us girls down.
The pathway between the hedges from the parking lot to Hope House that only Hope girls use doesn't seem like much when we're tired and cranky walking to breakfast in the morning. Looking back, this pathway was where our rabbit family had their cute little baby bunnies, where many of us took countless morning streaks for Snapchat, where some of us struggled to walk through on crutches and the stairs at the top of the pathway are a place many Hope girls know you can always go to sit and talk with someone on a sunny day.
On Saturday nights it’s pretty much guaranteed that in the hallway at the back of the house, first floor, you can find a girl picking up her Panago pizza at the totem pole on the other side of the door we all wish was unlocked so we don't have to walk all the way around the house when coming from Gillespie Field or the Foote Center. Walking through the path between the Desandolis’ house and Allard feels so pointless when there's a door right there. I know we all understand what it's like to run through that path with muddy shoes having a minute left until 7:15 sign in. This door leads you to the soccer pitch and the tennis courts where all the girls can see the things people get up to on Sunday afternoons. The things Hope girls witness from having this view are things we can all relate to creating good conversations between us all.
Our house is a bit far from other houses and that may seem bad to some people, but being able to turn left when you walk out of Crooks Hall instead of right is a small detail I will miss immensely. Being able to turn left from Crooks means you're a Hope girl and you know you're walking back home. Being able to see the parking lot, watching all the teachers, day students and guests arrive is something you learn to appreciate after all those years. It's a reminder that people work so hard at Brentwood to make it a place where we all want to be. You can always count on the kitchen that is locked for a quarter of the year to have dishes in the sink and Sunlight lemon dish soap in that fancy bottle.
Although sometimes we leave our kitchen a mess, I know we all love our kitchen because we can make Kraft Dinner, noodles and sit on the couch and watch scary movies with each other or have dance parties before Monday house meetings. Lastly, the Tuck Shop is a place where you may hate going to pick up your phones and shoes, but what you don't realize is it becomes such a routine to wait at that door outside the first floor bathroom.
To all the Hope girls reading this, know that every single girl that passes through those big doors that lead into the foyer - which we all hate vacuuming for house jobs and where we forget our shoes - will be part of your life. We all understand these special parts of our house.
Goodbye Hope House, I will miss hanging out in the co-ed common room on Sunday and seeing the shock on guests' faces when they realize we have a bathroom they can use. Who knew that Pink and Blue would mean so much to us?
Asia Copp, Hope House Captain, 2020