Hilltop

Campus Life

The Things They Carry

Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, is a staple of the curriculum in Senior Honors English. Upon completion of the book, students are assigned an essay in which they are asked to reflect upon the tangible and intangible items they carry during their final year as KUA students on The Hilltop.

1. “I wear my necklace everyday as a reminder of how I overcame a period of my life when I was really struggling.”

—Claire Dalton ’23

2. “As a senior at Kimball Union Academy, I now carry a college commitment, and all the stress and anxiety that I have been holding in evaporates in my gigantic exhale. My backpack feels lighter and my brain feels much more relaxed as the anxiety and anticipation of trying to be a college basketball player is now finally coming to fruition.” —Miles Burton ’23

3. “I carry my two bags, my gym bag and my school backpack, one on each shoulder.” —Mo McBride ’23

5. “My backpack for school is quite possibly the worst backpack in the world. In fact, it’s not even a backpack, it’s a glorified tote bag. It’s too small, does not have any pockets, and is not made for carrying textbooks and computers. Still, in my opinion, the bag looks nice. With a chicken, an alien spaceship, and the word ‘funkalicious’ on it, my backpack adds an enigmatic aura to me.” —Anna Flaherty ’23

6 “I like to keep my notebooks on me, about four and a half pounds in total, filled with many days of diligent or sloppy notes, depending on how I was feeling.”

—Caden Hutchinson ’23

7. “A dark-blue Toyota Rav-4, approximately 5,000 pounds, named Rebecca. The name of the car started as a joke between friends, but is now known as ‘Rebecca, Jesse’s car.’ ”

—Michael Sullo ’23

4. “I always carry four family photos— high-gloss, color prints measuring 4-by-6 inches apiece. These may just seem like ink on a page, but to me they mean everything.”

—Jesse Nunan ’23 1