Dolce far niente

My crumpled bag of Dunkin’ munchkins hanging from my pinky and iced caramel macchiato resting on my palm make for quite the balancing act as I snap a BeReal of my friends in the bleachers. Then I circle around to the next set of friends, shuffling past huddles of white dresses and jerseys. Wait, I left my car keys a few rows back. Clambering over rows of bleachers again, I exchange hellos with faces I last saw in May and share summer stories. Oh man, it’s 8:10 a.m. already—I rush to my car to collect my backpack before my first period. As I make my way up the steps of the parking lot, though, I glimpse back at the view. Golden rays dawn over the horizon. The “senior sunrise,” they call it. For a moment, time stands still as I soak in the moment. Dolce far niente: sweet idleness.

It’s easy to feel like a granule of rice in the Instant Pot that is Northview. It’s easy to get lost in the culture of resume chasing and constant competition—to always be doing something. As I write this leditor, the fact that I am graduating in mere weeks hasn’t sunk in. Perhaps it’s the juggle of homework, extracurriculars, and everything in between that keeps me from truly experiencing senioritis during the home stretch.

Or the constant reminders from Cady Studios to purchase my senior portraits. If I had to impart some final words of wisdom, however, they would be to just sit back and enjoy the view.

My favorite memories are the ones I would never have anticipated creating upon entering high school. They are photographing powder-dusted bleachers at football games, calling up friends to go on H Mart shopping sprees, embracing mock trial teammates at the end of a season, and all the other things that make Northview our Northview. Over the past three years, room 507 has become a second home; from laughs about a certain staffer’s rendition of a certain sports player to esoteric scribbles of spreads on the whiteboard during deadline nights, The Messenger has allowed me to learn lifelong lessons and forge unforgettable friendships.

Manasa, my Messenger partner in crime, and I attempted to capture some of these quintessential Northview moments in what is the finale of our era of editorial expression. So, as you sift through these 36 pages filled with memories from senior trips, Ronish holding up those car keys I mentioned earlier, and the setting sun sweetly casting golden rays upon Victory Hill, we hope that you, too, cherish the view.

Disha Kumar, Editor-in-Chief Disha Kumar

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR