I was born in the morning of May 9th 1997. My parents had just moved from Brookline to our house in Brighton weeks earlier with my two year old sister Ruby. My dad, Paul Messier, is an art conservator and works out of his office a street over from our house. My mother, Laura Paul, works in a leadership position at the New England Foundation for the Arts downtown. My sister is going into her sophomore year at Kenyon College in Ohio. My dad is originally from Worcester so I have many extended family members nearby.
My sister and I both attended a small private elementary school in Watertown called the Atrium School. There were only about one hundred students and it was very sheltering. I was miserable for the last few years there. By the time I was in the sixth grade at the Atrium school, my sister had gone through seventh and eighth grade at Boston Latin. I remember preparing for the entrance exam and wondering whether or not I would get in to BLS. When I received the news that I did in fact get in, I had mixed emotions. I was thrilled to have gotten in but I was nervous about making the switch between schools. The first week at BLS was tough, and it only got tougher. Once I made some friends and figured out what the academic expectations were, I realized that Boston Latin was one of the greatest things to have happened to me.
One of the best decisions I made at Boston Latin was one that I made before I ever set foot in the building. I signed up for band and just made the deadline. I got my third choice of instrument, the Trumpet, but soon realized that there is no other instrument I would rather play. I have played trumpet for all of my BLS career and have risen to a place in the Symphonic band. I also played in the BLS jazz band for three years. Playing in band taught me the importance of working together and how to take responsibility to better the group as a whole. During my time in band I have made great friends and have met some incredibly talented people. My experiences and the benefits that I have gotten out of music have made me understand the importance of the arts in school curriculum. During ninth and tenth grade I rowed competitively for Row Boston, a rowing team made up of all Boston Public Schools students. I made some great friends there and got valuable experience about determination and pushing one’s limits.
Throughout my years at Boston Latin, I developed a passion for history. I jumped at the opportunity to take AP World History in tenth grade, and in Junior year I took both AP United States history and Foreign policy. The combination of these classes helped me realize that I am interested in politics, especially in regard to foreign policy. I plan to pursue history and political science in college and I am considering studying law as well. I also attribute my passion for history to both my grandfathers whose combined historical knowledge could fill a library. I remember sitting at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners listening to my grandfather, father and uncles talk about history. I would strain to listen to their conversation over the noise of the other several simultaneous discussions, trying to get as much information as I could. Now I can use my own knowledge of history to take part in these conversations with my family. I know that my love for history makes both my grandfathers extremely proud. I use their support as motivation to keep learning as much as I can.
As of now, I intend to go to college on the east coast and am considering going to schools in the DC area. I think that going to school in the heart of the United States government would be a great experience and will open up numerous opportunities to get involved with politics and the government. I know that I want to work in government and that I may want to put my passion for foreign policy to use in the State Department or even the White House.