New Year, New Us

By: Jonah Kim

With so many changes in the last two years in our lives and in the world, we finally seem to have a return to normal in this school year. While masks and no dress code definitely makes the school unlike years past, the culture and feel of the school seems to be returning. With Seabury Live, construction, and overall changes to the school, the Seabury I knew in middle school and early high school was quickly changing. Now, with everyone back and a new building I think that the traditions and culture we know and love can return. 

Events like sleep outside, winter formal, and the senior haunted house are all on track to happen, and even though it has been two years since we had some of these traditions, it feels like five. I also hope that we can get a good student section going at sporting events as in prior years our student section was not one to mess with. Also showing up to sporting events is a great way for younger and older students alike to get more involved at school. 

During my first years at Seabury I was really scared at first to try new things at school, but once I started to try new things, I learned a lot about myself and the community around me. The greatest piece of advice I could give would be to get involved as much as you can because it is now every student’s responsibility to restore and strengthen the school’s culture. 

By: Marie Brockhoff

Over the past year, Seabury has felt a bit like a turtle flipped on its back–structurally sound, but thrown completely out of whack by external circumstances. As we work to flip back over and go on our merry way, considering what we want to regain as a school is worthwhile. 

Personally, I’m excited to attend dances, sports games and performances again in a safe way. Since it has been a few years, we may be a bit rusty as a community, but that does not mean that we should abandon traditions that do not live up to our memories; rather, we should give events the benefit of the doubt and simply decide to make them as fun as the situation allows. 

Additionally, throughout the past year, many upper school students have lamented that they do not know many of the lower schoolers, and vice versa. Renewing and forging connections in our community is easier said than done, and we have a lot of ground to make up. Talking to people can be terrifying, but I’ve found that taking the chance of speaking to someone new is almost always worth it, cheesy as that advice may seem. There is no perfect formula for talking to new people, but taking actions like shutting down your computer during advising or getting to know new people at your lunch table are good places to start.

It is impossible to know what will happen in the world over the course of the year, but I hope we can make the best of the events and interactions that are possible as Seabury makes slow and steady progress towards recovery.