Volume 78, Issue 4

The Reason for the Season

The h ol increa iday seaso n sed sh oppe brings sea so rs and new p nal merch an erspe ctives dise, on co n

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St. Teresa's Academy | Kansas City, MO| Volume 78, Issue 4

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table of

contents

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December 14, 2018

News

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4. Interim week introduced for Jan. 9

Star Spotlight 6. Olivia Michka

Features

8. Consumerism during the Christmas season 10. The clearing of roads after snow

Perspectives

12. America shouldn't be ignoring the war in Yemen 13. It's okay for goals to change

Last Look

14. Dart reprint

6 cover designed by Claire Smith back cover designed by Mckenzie Henffron

the staff 2018-2019

letter

from the editors Hello again, readers, We know, you saw us just two weeks ago. We didn’t want to leave you hanging over Christmas break! As campus begins to prepare for finals and silence falls in the learning center, we are proud to present the fourth issue of the Dart — sixteen pages of seasonal content.

Are you pondering the “true meaning of Christmas” after watching hours of seasonal Hallmark movies? Olivia Powell and Tess Jones collaborated on a feature about the consumerism the season rings in, so be sure to flip to page eight to read about the economic impact of the Christmas holidays.

Our Thanksgiving break was extended by a snow day, but other schools in the KC Metro missed days of school due to the icy roads. Lily Hart and Sophia Durone look into the implications of not de-icing roads on page 10, with photos by Claudia Benge.

A few years ago at a Dart holiday party, we stumbled upon some Darts of Christmas Past. We

Editors-In-Chief Julia Kerrigan Margaux Renee Gabby Staker thought it was time to finally let these pieces see the light of day for your reading pleasure.

Carmon Baker went into the archives and compiled pieces from the 70s to the 90s.

And finally, when we get back to campus we won’t go straight into our semester two schedules — the school will hold its first interim week, where students will be taking classes about anything from embroidery to architecture.

Read all about it on page four.

Please enjoy Issue 4, take care of yourselves during finals week and we’ll see you next year (just in case you’re not tired of hearing that classic line from your teachers)!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

WEB

Web Editor Lily Hart Social Media Editor Katie Gregory Social Media Team Maggie Hart, Tess Jones, Rachel Robinson Breaking News Editors Sophia Durone, Mary Massman Multimedia Editor Aspen Cherrito

PRINT

Design Editor Anna Ronan Photo Editors Amy Schaffer, Maddie Loehr Page Designers Anna Ronan, Gabby Staker, Julia Kerrigan, Margaux Renee, Claire Smith, Ella Norton, Amy Schaffer, Maddie Loehr, Lily Hart, Katie Gregory, Olivia Powell, Mckenzie Heffron, Rachel Robinson, Tess Jones, Faith Andrews O'Neal

COPY

Features Editor Ella Norton News Editor Annabelle Meloy Lifestyles Editor Kendall Lanier Opinion Editor Faith Andrews O'Neal Sports Editor Claudia Benge Staff Photographers Maggie Hart, Grace Fiorella Staff Writers Carmon Baker, Mckenzie Heffron, Beatrice Curry, Olivia Powell, Olivia Wirtz Adviser Riley Cowing designed by Ella Norton

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NEWS Editorial Policies

Ownership and Sponsorship

Social studies teacher Alicia Stewart informs students about her interim week course “Eat your Feed” on Dec. 10. This course will be an introduction to cooking foods frequently seen on social media. photo by Kendall Lanier

DartNewsOnline and the Dart are created by the student newpaper staff and are maintained and published by general operating funds of St. Teresa's Academy, a Catholic institution frounded by the Stisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

DartNewsOnline and the Dart will not publish opinions that contradict the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic church, whether on a diocesan or worldwide level.

Editorial Policy

The Staff of DartNewsOnline and the Dart are subject to prior review by the St. Teresa's Academy administrative team in circumstances that concern Catholic doctrine, student safety or illegal behavior. DartNewsOnline and the Dart will not publish reviews of sudent work or performances. Personal columns reflect the opinions of the writer, not necessarily the staff or school.

Letters & Reader Interaction Policy

STA introduces Interim Week

Comment Policy

An interim program will be implemented in January, after being cancelled last year. This inaugural week will offer students over 40 courses designed and taught by STA teachers.

Story by Mary Massman Breaking News Editor

DartNewsOnline and the Dart encourage the community to post comments on the website. Letters to the editors can be sent in the following ways: in person to Riley Cowing in Goppert room G106; by mail to St. Teresa's Academy, Attn: Riley Cowing, 5600 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64113; by email to rcowing@sttersasacademy.org or to dartpaper@gmail.com. DartNewsOnline and the Dart reserve the right to edit or shorten letters for publication.

DartNewsOnline and the Dart encourage readers to comment on all posts. However, DartNewsOnline and the Dart reserve the right to monitor and edit all comments on DartNewsOnline. Comments that disagree with the editorial policy will not be published.

Photo Use Policy

Photo illustrations are conceptual photos that combine drawing and photography.

All photos on the website are free for public use. If a reader is interested in highquality copies of photos, please email DartNewsOnline at dartpaper@gmail.com.

Corrections policy

DartNewsOnline and the Dart will publish corrections as soon as possible after the error is discovered.

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December 14, 2018

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hen students return to campus from Christmas break they will spend the first three days, Jan. 9-11, attending courses created and taught by STA teachers in an interim or external term. Classes teaching embroidery, the Chinese legend of Fa Mulan, veganism or the problem of antibiotic resistance are examples of the more than 40 varied options for students.

The idea for an STA interim week was suggested by teachers in a faculty meeting three years ago. In 2016, the original interim committee formed consisting of English teacher Kelly Fast, former theology teacher Mike Sanem and former campus minister Meredith Snyder. However, according to Fast, the interim week planned for 2018 never took place because meeting conflicts arose first semester and took time away from the committee’s planning.

This year, as program coordinator and director of the interim committee, Fast helped organize interim courses, approved teachers’ course submissions, put the course catalogue together and scheduled accordingly to make sure all students were in one full-day or two half-day classes.

Although Fast has talked to

schools with interim programs, he doesn’t feel as though the idea of an STA interim program was necessarily inspired by local schools.

“I think it was the idea of trying to think outside of the box educationally to create experiences for students to develop real interest in education,” Fast said. “Also, [interim week] is for both students and teachers to have the opportunity to do more lifelong learning or learning that’s not for a grade or not for an assessment. I think often students are really hard workers at STA that they see classes as just something they have to do or have to accomplish.”

The absence of a grade is what makes interim week particularly appealing to junior Shama Smerdon, who participated in an interim week or “Jan Term” as a freshman at Pembroke Hill High School before she transferred to STA. “It took a lot of pressure off and students enjoyed everything a lot more,” Smerdon said. “They appreciated it. I think because when there’s grades, it’s less about learning and more about passing honestly.”

During Jan Term, Smerdon took courses about podcasts, graphic design and social justice, and this year during interim week she will be taking an ACT prep course at STA. However, there are also opportunities to learn offcampus throughout Kansas City and explore potential careers.

Junior Grace Pence is particularly drawn to French teacher Alice Amick’s course geared toward students considering a career in law.

Pence has several family members who are lawyers,

and she is interested in the profession but wants to be more informed before she goes to college.

“This course actually shows you what you would be doing by going to a law firm as opposed to just learning about what you have to do to become a lawyer,” Pence said.

“It will also be interesting to get Amick’s perspective on what it was like to go to law school and take the bar.”

Similar to Smerdon, English teacher Sarah Taber is familiar with an interim program from her four years of teaching at Pembroke. Taber led a variety of interim courses focusing on contemporary women’s issues, creative writing, cultural movements, Ernest Hemingway and even embarking on a trip to an organic farm in Yosemite, California.

“I guess in a utopia, we’d always do interim week right?”

Taber said. “We would just have courses where we can learn and there would be low stakes. I think that when there’s no pressure for a GPA or an AP test, I know I enjoy teaching a course more and I think there’s something to be said about the choice factor that students are choosing to be in there.”

Taber is teaching courses over both polar fitness and KC’s art, literature, music and food scene. Polar fitness consists of workouts in Goppert and runs around KC. Her other course will give students the chance to interact with local poets, artists and even share a meal with a Syrian family who immigrated to KC because of the war. She feels that her experience with previous interim classes inspired how she planned for this week.

“I think in planning the KC arts class, my experience with

past classes made me realize that students really don’t know so much about the city,” Taber said. “So I definitely use that knowledge to try and just cross boundaries and get out to neighborhoods and places where we don’t usually go.

Anytime I plan a course it’s pretty selfish too—I like learning myself.”

Fast asked Taber to join the interim committee because of her perspective as a faculty member familiar with an interim program.

“One thing that I loved about the Pembroke Jan Term is that the students were leading a lot of classes,” Taber said. “We hope to do that here eventually, where you propose a class and you just need the teacher to be there, but it’s really your brain child and your execution.”

Although this is the first year of an interim week at STA, Fast explained that the committee is planning to schedule another interim next year with a full, five day week and additional courses in order to lower class numbers. He also has drawn inspiration for the future from other schools with more developed programs.

“I would like to involve internships and travel experiences,” Fast said. “I would like it to involve classes that were not only taught by alumnae, parents, community members and students but also classes that were available to them, so that we had night classes, where teachers can teach some of these classes to parents of STA students. I think it could be a reason students want to come to STA if we developed this program into a really solid experience.” designed by Mary Massman

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STAR SPOTLIGHT

olivia michka Michka works creatively with both visual art and music and lets both mediums inspire each other.

Story by Rachel Robinson Writer Photos by Amy Schaffer Photo Editor

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What kind of visual art do you do?

I work with a wide variety of mediums, but my favorite is painting. I also do drawing, pastels, etc. I primarily use acrylic paint— that’s my favorite, and my favorite subjects to paint are December 14, 2018

usually portraits so that’s usually what my independent pieces will be focused on. When I have class assignments it can vary, but I like to do portraiture. A lot of my work revolves around musicians or sound.

Can you tell me about your music?

I grew up playing piano from age seven to about a year ago and that was all with a teacher.

In 7th grade, we started learning guitar in music class at school. A lot of people didn’t really stick with it. I had never played before, but I started to pick it up and my parents got me my own guitar. A year and a half ago, I got an electric guitar which totally changed the game so I perform with my friend Margaux now. We’ve been playing together since like 6th grade, but recently in like the last year we’ve been a lot more serious about it and we’ve done some bigger venues such as the Uptown Theatre and First Fridays. Those were the two big ones for us.

How does your art overlap with your music?

A lot of my art was based on the faces of musicians that I really like so I have a lot of portraits of musicians. Then I got more interested in the feeling — so for portfolio class this year my subject is sound and music so I’ve had to think a little deeper about how they overlap. I’m focusing on how music makes you feel. Like the act of going to a concert and the effects of the lighting, sound and the crowds. I try to take that feeling and put it into art.

Is your music at all based on your visuals?

I’m sure there is a tie between my creativity from art

and how it translates to how I play music. A lot of my painting style that I’ve come to establish is very sloppy and bold. The reason I like acrylic paint is that you can just layer over and over again. I don’t like to think about what I’m doing; I just like to keep going at it until it’s right.

And when I’m playing guitar I like to strum instead of pluck because you can get really aggressive with it and improvise more instead of having it be thought out which is the same as visual art.

What caused you to start thinking of yourself as an artist?

It was this 6th-grade project.

My art teacher told the board of directors that I was a good artist which I didn’t know. They were like, “Hey can you draw a t-shirt design for the annual 5k run?” I was really scared about it so I did the design and then copied it and colored it in like 10 different color designs. They chose one and they put it on a t-shirt. I didn’t think much of it, but then to go to the run and see hundreds of people wearing my design, I was like, “Oh this could be something.”

And then last year in theology, I was in Mr. Sanem’s class and I made a recreation of that piece. It shows the progression of when I had no ability or style to where I am today. It started with this shirt and then it slowly got better. I credit a lot of how much I’ve developed to Ms. Wallerstedt, who retired after my sophomore year, because she believed in me just like my art teacher did in middle school.

she scared a lot of the other girls off, but she supported me a lot. She was very strict and my first two years with her were very much, “Draw this still life or draw this specific lamp or apple or whatever.” It was good to have her because she set the foundation and tools that I needed and then [Kelly] Scott came in my junior year and she’s much more open to whatever you want to do with the prompt. That was stressful for me because I was used to structure, but it has made me develop the style that I have today.

Do you have any plans in the future for your art?

Long term, I can see myself being an artist in many different ways. I started taking graphic design this semester and I’m pretty good at it and I’m really enjoying it. My parents are graphic designers so that would make sense for me. Or I might want to work in an animation studio for Pixar which is a little bit of a reach or I might want to make music album designs, music video set work, work on Broadway and make the sets.

There are so many things that I want to do and I don’t know so I’m just going to study art and then see where it goes.

What kind of impact has STA had on your art?

I think part of it has always been the desire in me to be an artist, but Ms. Wallerstedt… designed by Amy Schaffer

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FEATURES

The reason for the season The holiday season brings seasonal merchandise, increased shoppers and new perspectives on consumerism.

Story by Tess Jones|Instagram Editor Olivia Powell|Writer Photos by Olivia Wirtz|Photographer Alternative Coverage by Anna Ronan|Design Editor

W

eeks before Thanksgiving, retailers stock the shelves with merchandise for the holidays— Christmas to Kwanzaa. The New Dime Store gradually displays holiday merchandise with poinsettias, ornaments and home decor, explained owner and president Kimberly Harris.

They begin “putting things out for the holidays right after Halloween,” according to Harris.

According to marketing representative Julie Weeks, Indigo Wild has a similar approach to the holiday

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December 14, 2018

season. Indigo Wild’s business online and in-store retail ramps up during November.

With stores displaying holiday merchandise earlier in the year, the term “holiday creep” has been coined to describe these retailers. Retailers like Harris have reasoning behind their strategies.

“People are spending the money and that means we are making money here at the store,” Harris explained.

STA social studies teacher Anne Papineau runs an Etsy store called Midtown Modern KC. She explained that

consumerism has two sides to it. “[Consumerism] generates profit for many small business owners, who rely upon the high sales to make it through much of the year,” Papineau said.

Indigo Wild, which sells products from natural soaps to detergents, also notices an increase in sales during the holidays, according to Weeks.

“The holiday season is definitely our busiest from a retail perspective, however because our items are everyday needs, we plan fun events and promotions for our ‘Zum Loveys’ year-round,”

Weeks said.

Harris believes and understands the benefits of why consumers shop early. “[Products are] not going to be there when they come back, right after Thanksgiving,” Harris explained.

Retailers and consumers like Papineau acknowledge that while holiday retail has benefits for both parties, there are also significant drawbacks.

Papineau believes that seasonal shopping has caused a shift in the way the holiday season is observed.

“As big retailers began to co-opt the holiday during the 1950s and onward through mass advertising, Christmas has become much more product focused,” she said.

Harris also explained the downside to consumerism.

“People get wrapped in this ‘I have to buy this and do this for this person and I have to spend this much money on this person’ where I think you really don’t have to,” Harris said.

Papineau noticed that this

Senior Jane Kincaid and her mom, Marcy Kincaid, shop for Christmas ornaments Dec. 5.

change in shopping is also impacting relationships.

“We are seeing our family interactions becoming much more based upon physical gifts and the enormity of gift giving can put an economical strain on families,” Papineau said.

Harris said giving gifts can mean “something very simple for somebody and it means more than how much

you spend.” Papineau also explained the importance of balancing consumerism by limiting orders she accepts as a retailer and as a consumer.

“I suggest setting limits with family about how many gifts to give…So this year, we are doing something different by going on a family vacation instead of giving gifts,” Papineau said.

Papineau explained her concern about consumerism during the holidays.

“We lose sight of the meaning of Christmas and the holiday season — to be fully present with loved ones and generous with those in need,” Papineau said.

“This is something I fear we are increasingly losing sight of in American culture.”

designed by Olivia Powell

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FEATURES

: s n o i t a l l e c n a

c g n i t s Foreca

decisions behind

Between public and private schools in the Kansas City metro area, school administrations must consider elements such as accessibility, budget and student impact when calling snow days. The city of Kansas City, Missouri is tasked to clear thousands of road miles of ice to allow for class to proceed on inclement weather days.

Story by Lily Hart Web Editor Sophia Durone Breaking News Editor Photos by Claudia Benge Sports Editor

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December 14, 2018

A

the district

s the flurries begin to fall on Kansas City, some students do everything in their power to secure a snow day. Freshmen and seniors alike place spoons under their pillows, flush ice cubes down the toilet and wear their pajamas inside out. St. Teresa’s Academy president Nan Bone has a less superstitious approach to the occurrence.

When the forecast predicts snow, Bone phones her “pod of presidents” from Pembroke Hill School, St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School, Notre Dame de Sion High School and Rockhurst High School to discuss whether school should be in session the following day.

There is a multitude of factors that administrators consider when determining if they should cancel school due to inclement weather. Bone takes into account STA’s 20-acre property and the differences in weather conditions from the school’s 76 represented zip codes.

“Can the people that we

hire get here?” Bone said.

“Can we get these parking lots cleared for you? My concern always is my drivers, the distance they’ll be driving, the road conditions…”

As a private institution, STA pulls students from both Missouri and Kansas, making it necessary for the administration to consider many regions of the metropolitan area, while public schools must only consider a single district. The discrepancies between the two states’ winter road clean-up policies cause issues for students on both sides of stateline.

Kansas City, MO Director of Communications Chris Hernandez expresses that the quality differences in snow plowing are in part due to how Kansas City divides up its land.

The geographic area that Kansas City, MO must cover in a storm is larger than the individual neighborhoods in Kansas who each control their own plowing.

“In every storm, Kansas City,

MO treats and plows 6,400 lanes miles spread across 320 square miles and parts of four counties,” Hernandez said.

“Suburban communities that have only five, or even 20 square miles, can plow their routes over and over again in the same time [we need].”

With STA being located within Kansas City, MO, Bone must consider the city’s snow removal priorities when requesting help during midday storms.

“We call the city right away and say, ‘Hey, can you come in and [clear our surrounding roads]?’” Bone said. “‘We know we’re not your top priority, the main thoroughfares are, but we’re a school and kids are sliding past us.’”

However, Hernandez must first attend to the Kansas City Public Schools’ snow plowing needs, as district closures impact 30,000 people.

“During snow events, we are in regular contact with KCPS and other school districts to assist them in their cancellation planning,” Hernandez said.

The other aspect of this quality disparity lies in the city budgets. Kansas City, MO has allocated $12,454,688 for public works, including snow removal, in the 2019 budget to cover thousands of miles of road. Prairie Village budgeted $2,188,463 for only 258 miles according to their 2019 public budget statement.

According to NBC Action News, the impact of poor road conditions can be seen through the number of snow days taken by schools this year. The Kansas City, Kansas district has had five snow days while Missouri has had nine. Transportation Manager of the Kansas City Public Schools Perry Eubank elaborates.

“Beside what’s happening on the road, it’s also trees that might be down from the heavy icing or condition of sidewalks.”

Eubank said. “You might not even have icing on the roads but the decision might be it’s too dangerous for kids to be waiting at a bus stop.”

Like Eubank, Bone must contemplate the wide range of impacts a cancellation will have on her students, but despite her efforts, she cannot please everyone.

“I sometimes will have people upset with me in areas where they [do] call off school,” Bone said. “Do we get it wrong sometimes? Absolutely. Are parents happy with us all the time? No. But I think that we weigh every single thing.”

Hernandez faces similar backlash from citizens when road clearings are not to the public’s satisfaction.

“We are aware of the frustration the [recent] blizzard brought our residents and the inconvenience school cancellations cause for parents

and others,” Hernandez said.

“We... can assure you that crews worked overtime to keep salting and plowing streets until all roads [were] safe for travel.”

Despite the city’s hard work with limited resources, Bone states that in unsafe conditions, an extra day of school is not worth the risk of student danger for STA. “I think that with computers now, it’s not such a big deal; you’re still at home doing work and your teacher can still correspond with you,” Bone said. “We still want to get our number of days in, but for us it is, in this day and age, not a big deal.”

Despite their different considerations, Eubank and Bone both work to ensure an accessible learning environment for their students each day and use other schools’ decisions as points of reference.

“We listen for those [public] high schools to see what they’re doing and think, ‘Oh ok we’re on the right track,’” Bone said.

designed by Maddie Loehr

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PERSPECTIVES

America ignored the war in Yemen, now it’s too late This conflict was allowed to metastasize unchecked by the American people.

Moving forward, we must hold our government accountable for the alliances it maintains.

Story by Margaux Renee Editor-In-Chief

I

t happens every couple of weeks: I’m scrolling through Instagram—my sister at college, my friends at a concert, the score of last night’s game, a starving child in Yemen. I pause for a moment, overcome with grief, but not enough to stop me from scrolling past the image and onto something else, something less unsettling. This is the formula that has enabled me to ignore the war in Yemen. Because of it, I recognize that I have blood on my hands and you probably do too.

According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 8.4 million Yemenis have no clue where their next meal will come from— 400,000 of those citizens are children, who are not only foodinsecure but suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition. In Yemen, one child dies from preventable causes every 10 minutes.

According to a conservative estimate by Save the Children, this may amount to a total of 85,000 deaths of children under five between 2015 and 2018 due to starvation.

How is it then, that a crisis of this magnitude has been so easy to ignore? According to a Congressional Research

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December 14, 2018

Service report conducted in 2016, the United States arranged $61,900 million in arms transfer agreements to Saudi Arabia between 2008 and 2015. Part of the reason why this war has gone largely unnoticed is because the U.S. is responsible and does not want its citizens to know.

Saudi Arabia merely heads a coalition of countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and France, that has been accused of committing war crimes by the United Nations.

Using American bombs and F-15 fighter planes, coalition airstrikes have hit neighborhoods, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats and hospitals. The American military has even helped the Saudis by refueling their bombers to ensure a ruthlessly efficient aircampaign.

This is reportedly justified by the threat of dangerous, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who according to NPR, have been accused of war crimes too. However, the damage inflicted by the Houthis pales in comparison to the utter ruin created by the coalition. Saudi Arabia is so desperate for control in the region that they have even resulted to weaponizing hunger, closing off ports in an effort to trap the people of Yemen in an air-tight famine.

As Nicholas Kristof wrote in the New York Times, our “tax dollars help starve children,” making us as American citizens indirectly responsible for a country ravaged by the fury of war. This presents us with a decision, are we as a country going to stand for

greed or for the lives of children?

Are we as voters going to reelect politicians that value a relationship with Saudi Arabia or instead support candidates that stand for human dignity?

We, the people have to be the ones to hold our government accountable. We must demand that America stands for aid and humanitarianism rather than constant military transaction. It should not be on our conscience as a nation that we were complicit in the deaths of thousands, but in reality, it already is. It is too late to undo the suffering experienced by the people of Yemen, and that truth will weigh on both the Obama and Trump administrations for years to come.

Rumblings of re-evaluating our relationship with Saudi Arabia have become more frequent recently, following the killing of Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. This shows that Americans are only moved to empathy when it concerns what is familiar to us. But when it comes to lives of innocent, middleeastern children, we are unable to look beyond ourselves.

Frankly, our involvement in this conflict makes me ashamed to be American but this does not mean I’m not hopeful. I have hope that enough Americans have good consciences and the will to demand action from Washington. I have hope that my generation will grow up with the intent of bettering the lives of humans beings rather than putting America, its interests and any potential weapons sales first.

It’s okay for goals to change Goals change over time and it’s okay to give up on them, especially if they are causing you extreme stress or unhappiness.

Story by Ella Norton Features Editor

D

ear young Ella, How are you? Are you still obsessed with reading, creating home movies and dreaming up goals that are extremely difficult to achieve?

Yeah about the goals, I have a newsflash for you. I don’t think I’m going to be able to achieve any of the things you thought of.

For context, when I was eight, all I wanted was to be a published author. I was penning a book called “The Dreamer” and I was convinced that my life’s purpose was to write an incredible story and become world-famous. I was so passionate about this that I wrote myself a letter for my 16th birthday saying that if I wasn’t a published author yet, I was a failure.

Unfortunately, I’m 16 now and I am not a published author.

I never created a YouTube channel to live out my dreams of being a social media star. I sincerely doubt I could get into Columbia University (my dream college at 8 years old), and I am no longer taking piano lessons so I don’t think superb pianist will be on my resume any time soon.

Long story short, I’ve basically given up on all of of my old dreams. However, now I have a real newsflash for you, young Ella — not all goals are accomplished and some goals change. That’s okay.

I think this mentality is a little hard to have in our society when there is such a pressure to persevere and to accomplish your goals. But what about when the thing you are going after is hurting you?

As you well know young Ella, I used to love playing piano and would spend hours practicing in an attempt to better my musical talents. However with the start of junior year, my schedule became crazy, and I didn’t have time to practice. I began to dread going to lessons and my lack of practice caused extreme worry.

I ultimately dropped piano, and I am so glad I did. It put such a pressure on my life and it no longer caused me any joy. Yes, I was giving up on my goal but in the end I knew that it was better for me.

It’s a double-edged sword.

I want to encourage everyone to go after their goals and to persevere. Every great thing does require work and effort. However, there are certain goals that cause extreme stress to a person or they feel a duty to finish, causing them unhappiness or the inability to focus on anything else. These are both situations in which a goal is more harmful than good. If a goal is draining you mentally, physically and you cannot function — you have to consider how necessary it really is.

As I mentioned before, I feel like this is pretty frowned upon, even at STA. There’s this atmosphere where you feel you can’t drop a class, even if it’s too much for you, you can’t

not do a certain extracurricular because your schedule is too busy — you have to do it all. I find this atmosphere is ridiculous.

Just because you drop a class does not mean that you aren’t smart enough and it does not determine your success.

If something is making you unhappy, causing you extreme amounts of stress or anxiety and basically stopping you from living your best life, it’s okay to give up on it. Focus on something that does make you happy. Goals evolve over time, even if we aren’t aware of it.

When I opened the letter you wrote me for my 16th birthday young Ella, I did sort of feel like a failure. I hadn’t accomplished anything that I had wanted to when I was young. But after some reflection, I realized that it was alright. My dreams have completely changed. I’m not a published author but I do write for my school newspaper and I love it. Columbia University is no longer on my college list, but I’m looking at schools where I could be much happier. I no longer take piano lessons, but I play whenever I can and that works out well for me.

So young Ella, I’m sorry if you’re disappointed that I didn’t achieve any of the things you wanted me to. However, the truth is I’m pretty happy with where my current dreams are taking me, and that’s all that matters.

Love, 16 year old Ella designed by Anna Ronan

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LAST LOOK

DARTs OF CHRISTMAS PAST The Dart went into the archives to republish stories and poems from previous Christmas issues.

The following stories date from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Stories compiled by Carmon Baker Writer

For more articles from the archives, visit DartNewsOnline

1995

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December 14, 2018

1999

“Christmas Future” 1973

designed by Julia Kerrigan

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ON THE

DNO Column by Anna Ronan

Advisories give back Story by Annabelle Meloy

Gallery: Senior quad set-up

Closing the loop on fast fashion Photos by Maddie Loehr Stargazer: Winter Holidays DartTube: Caffeine and the teenage body

Podcast by Aspen Cherrito

Video by Mckenzie Heffron

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