Congratulations to the class of 2021!

My built-in-best-friend. My twin sister. My womb-mate. My forever roommate. My whole life I have shared a room (originally by force but now by choice) with my twin sister. I have grown accustomed to the nature of sharing everything, compromising a lot, and having a messy room (thanks Jillian).    When it comes to sharing a room I find there is a certain comfort provided, knowing someone else ...

  You want what you can’t have.     A phrase we have all heard a million times, but what I think we don’t all realise is that this little sentence ecompases all that this past year has been.     When it was “normal” no one wanted to go to school. We would all wake up to that screeching alarm, roll over, and hate the thought of going to school. Little did we know that woul...

My mom is a doctor. I mean that’s what I always tell people when they ask me “What does your mom do?.” I had a pretty simple answer to a pretty simple question. That all changed when the COVID-19 pandemic started. My mom, I realized, wasn’t just a doctor. She was a responder. Obviously the focus of her job had always been to respond to patient’s medical needs, but she never anticipated respo...

The other day I was doing some research about the director Robert LePage for an IB Theatre presentation and I found this one quote of his that I really liked, so it felt right to start off my thank you and farewell letter to the theatre program with it.     “I've chosen to work in theatre more than any other artistic expression because it doesn't exist without a community. Even if you do a one-man...

It feels like just yesterday I took that “aesthetic” photo of my friends and I jumping holding hands after eighth grade graduation (revolting, I know). However, that was four years ago. Middle school is now a distant memory, and my real graduation is less than a month away. Funny how time flies. But that is not what I am writing about. Well, not entirely. Dear freshmen, please recognize how fas...

Opportunities are ubiquitous. Take advantage of all that is presented to you and keep an open mind. You will regret it if you do not.     Throughout my time in high school, I have learned to appreciate and take advantage of opportunities. Sometimes I can be reluctant because I am apprehensive about the outcome.     During my sophomore year, there was a school trip to France, and I was on the...

Without deadlines or rules, life would be messy. Personally, I benefit from due dates and structure. But there come times when such rigidity needs to be relaxed … when I can be breezy, and explore at a rapid pace, or slow down as I waft along the path of life, carrying a tune the way a breeze carries the scent of spring blooms.     I admit a word like “breezy” might be read as a pejora...

Walking into the building not knowing anything or anyone was a challenge, especially for someone who struggles to come out of my comfort zone.  Throughout my ninth and tenth grade years I felt lost not knowing where to go; I went through the basic English classes but nothing really connected to my passions and goals. I was always curious - looking for answers and afraid to ask questions - but that i...

So...where do we go from here? Four years of relationships, procrastinated assignments, club meetings, and after-school practices are over. Four years of trying to navigate ourselves, preparing for this moment - the beginning of something far bigger than you or me. I know many of us are feeling a wave of emotions. Our excitement pushes out, allowing us to reach for the freedom we have been yearning f...

High school hits you with a weird contradiction: you must fit in, but it is also cool to stand out. In my underclassman years, I felt like I had to carefully tow the line between trying not to draw too much attention to myself, but also making sure I never looked "basic." Even when I would dress in my best outfits, I felt like I was holding back. But if I could give any advice to my fellow high sc...