A Letter from the EditorI am a sentimental person. I tend to see it more of a weakness than a strength. I tear up over handwritten letters and sob over photos taken from years past. I keep every little note passed and stash away knick knacks from the events I have attended. It’s a habit that’s neared the brink of hoarding.This sentimentality of mine is exacerbated by a fear of forgetting, which strongly outweighs my fear of the dark. The latter can be easily solved with a flashlight, but it’s a bit harder to dispel the former.I’ve so far elected to remedy this fear through constantly taking photos and videos. From the moment I learned how to tap a shutter button, my phone has been filled to the maximum capacity of storage with moments I have long since forgotten and only recalled through my insatiable urge to remember everything exactly as it is. My memory might fail me when I grow old, but a photo won’t. I cherish our generation’s ability to document everything so effortlessly.To jump from online to in-person learning is no easy feat. As much as we’d all like to forget a pandemic, there is no denying that it will remain a part of our lives that have changed our trajectories and paths. Epiphanies have been forged through struggle and purposes have been questioned when life was still so uncertain.Watching and observing from afar with the occasional clicking of a camera, I have realized what I missed the most while quarantined in my room: people.There is so much to be said and learned from paying attention to people. Luxury lies in the details. Pixels on my screen have turned into hopeful eyes framed by rosy cheeks, hellos in hallways, and roaring laughter that cannot be silenced. Living is experiencing others. Humanity is hidden in brief moments of time.I joined yearbook to capture the little moments and details for people that I myself hold so dearly in my heart. Nostalgia is a drug that you can’t ever get enough of. I’ve had an amazing time remembering and never forgetting for others.The 2021-2022 Yearbook Committee agrees. We decided that a theme would overpower the message we wanted to send and ignore the years we have just gone through. And so, we landed on a theme that effectively paid tribute to what got us through everything.We present to you: The Memories that Make Us.I would like to thank my phenomenal and dedicated team of photographers and editors. You have made the job of remembering exceptionally easier. It is only with Anna Chen, Barbie Zhang, Jennifer Li, Antonio Pan Zhu, Audrey Jones, Ava Schaefle, Isabella Conde, Ava Crespo, Isabella Lingenfelser, Alan Sun, Kengo Takada, Mary Zhang, Jonah Breton, and Aidan Hofer that this yearbook lies before you today.Thank you to Michael and Seta from Yearbook Inc.! It takes an almost godlike patience and tolerance to answer the never ending questions from the painfully clueless. They have never once lacked complete support for our work, always prioritizing the best possible quality that could be delivered.Thank you to Ms. Strouse for taking the time out of her incredibly busy schedule to take on such a large and frustratingly complex project for the sake of the student body. She has been our steady guiding light throughout the entire process, encouraging our wildest ideas and pushing us to make them happen.But especially thanks to you. Your memories are what makes this yearbook special.Signing off,
Katareena Roska
Editor-In-Chief