Everyone has heard somebody complain about Blake. Whether it’s in class or in the hallways, complaints about teachers, tests, projects, papers, homework, and classwork are prevalent. If something happens at school, someone’s probably complaining about it. And I get it, complaining is fun. It makes you feel better. There’s no better way to overcome stress then to vent about it to your friends or whoever will listen to your tale of woe, but when you’re provided with a great opportunity like going to Blake, it seems a little ungrateful to just complain about it.

Not to say that public schools in Minnesota are bad, in fact Minnesota is ranked eighth in the nation according to The Huffington Post, but for most people, going to Blake is a great opportunity. According to the Wall Street Journal, Blake was ranked 40th among private schools in the U.S. in 2007. Sure Blake is hard, but that’s kinda the point.

In a lot of ways a challenge can be enjoyable, because when you’re not challenged, it’s easy to become bored. If you play basketball, you don’t just go dunk on kindergarteners all day. First of all, that would be cruel, but after a while you would get sick of it. You would want a challenge. But when you’re challenged, complaining can become a reflex. Jack Moe ‘18 admitted that “with how difficult [Blake] is, sometimes I take for granted how many advantages it can give you later in life.” It’s hard not to complain, but it’s worth trying to stop because you’re given such a great opportunity that a lot people don’t get. Soren Roe ‘18, who returned to Blake from Edina in 6th grade, pointed out that “you can tell that the teachers [at Blake] care more about what they’re teaching… I really wanted to get back to Blake when I was at Edina.”