Contributed by Sienna ’12

Recently, in the junior class there has been a disagreement as to what the Junior living room is for. The Junior living room, or Collins Room, should be no different from any other living room.

My own living room is less than a third of the size of the Collins Room and is the only room in my house with a TV and a computer. I share this room with four other people, all of various ages, genders and interests. While I’m doing homework, I must deal with my four year old brother’s constant urge to fight, my 12 year-old sister’s constant need to sing Justin Bieber, my father’s need to watch Western movies, my mother’s need to talk loudly on the phone and my dog’s need to smell like pee.

Although we all have different needs and ideas of what should happen in our living room, we still manage to coexist with one another and tolerate each other’s differences. We juniors need to learn to do the same, not only for now, but for our future.

As Marlborough girls we are tricked into believing that in the world we can separate ourselves from those with different interests, like with the soundproof study rooms. But that is far from reality. We won’t always have complete control over our surroundings; one day, we may share a dorm with a crazed roommate, have a loud family, or even be annoyed by a noisy neighbor.

What keeps us from happily coexisting is our inability to let go of the control we think we have or tolerate other people’s ideas of what the Collins Room is truly for. We, as juniors, need to learn to tolerate one another. Now is the time to learn to coexist, so we can all appreciate this space together.