Post plane rides and road trips, beach Instagram photos and family Snapchats, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and stay-at-home spring break plans, quarter four is here. In the past couple of weeks, we have heard “finish strong” sentiments from teachers and gotten back into our routines of school, homework, sleep and repeat. That is, of course, with the added pressure of looming AP/IB exams, college decision letters and finals.
But in the midst of this new round of assignments and due dates, I ask that you find time in your life to play. This time can look different for everyone. Some students run on the track; others build robots. Some draw in Art Therapy Club; others dance at BalletMet. Some solve the daily Wordle with their friends; others binge Euphoria on HBO. I encourage you to dive into an activity that gets your creative juices flowing or simply gives you a chance to feel relaxed and present. These activities are important to our mental health as we head to the finish line.
In this issue, we explore some of these activities. On page five, writer Gracie Helfrich discusses the Wordle craze, and on page 10, writer Ellie Crespo shares how two students split their time between UAHS and the zoo. On page 14, writers Brooke Mason, Greta Miller and Safia Malhotra explore how students in all types of activities at UAHS are celebrated. As you read about these activities, I hope you think about the ones that bring you the most joy in life regardless of how they build up your resumes and college applications, and I hope you appreciate all of the unique talents of your peers. Even if you can’t cheer on the debaters in the same way as the basketball team or dress up to watch an orchestra concert the same way you can for a football game, I encourage you to send well wishes and congratulations to the students who are not involved in athletics but pursuing similarly awesome activities. Go Bears!