Dear Editor,

Lowell High School is a truly amazing place not because of the teachers, the facilities, or even the administration, but because it is we the students who are good at taking tests, buying prep-books to cram for our STARs, ACTs, SATs, APs, and any other acronym-laden tests that glorify Lowell High School as one of the best institutions that has ever existed on the face of the planet. It is we the students who have the insatiable drive to work hard and accomplish the seemingly impossible to others. It is we the students who make it all possible to fuel and run this glorious institution.

But Lowell High School is flawed. Think about it, why would you take the top students from all the middle schools, put them in poorly maintained institution, and have them compete against each other only to be ranked and labeled as normal, or even in some cases, subnormal students amongst our peers? As smart as one student is, there will always be someone smarter, someone better, someone stronger; this exact concept sets up most of the students of Lowell High School up for a downfall. No matter how smart we are, fast we are, strong we are, we are STILL compared amongst each other like statistical numbers, weeded out, and placed into some numerical ranking that neither represents our full academic capabilities nor our talents and true identity. Ironically, a large number of Lowellites end up attending City or SF State because of the competitive nature of this very school we once loved to attend.

But I cannot ever forget about the good that Lowell has given me. As I prepare to head off to college and begin another chapter in my life after Lowell, I can say that I feel confident in my academic, and social abilities. I am prepared for whatever comes my way. If I can survive Lowell, I can survive anything. The best part of these past four years have, of course, been the relationships I’ve fostered with my fellow peers and I guess that’s what makes it all worth it.

— Louis Wong, Reg. 1208

A version of this letter first appeared in the Jan. 27, 2012 print edition of The Lowell.