The gods envy us. They envy us because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now." - Homer, The Iliad
Red Hair, green flag
On the first day of freshman English with Ms. Collins, a messy bed of ginger hair caught my eye. He felt weirdly familiar, like a character I had seen before but could not place. When we got assigned to the same table, figuring him out became my personal side quest. He was quiet and hard to read until we realized we had gone to the same middle school and somehow missed each other entirely. We started talking more, then came the Snapchat “tryna hang out?” Two years later, we have grown up together and are each other’s biggest supporters. If you told my seventh grade self I would be dating the ginger kid, I would have genuinely not believed it. - YUNA JI
Caption: Sully and I pose for homecoming photos on Oct. 18. Earlier that day, he played linebacker in the homecoming game against Chavez.
Love the laugh
All it takes is an awfully unfunny joke, an unhinged voice crack or an odd sneeze across the room before I have to find a way to make myself look like I don't have a broken sense of humor. When my teammate(s) slip on the ball and fall during soccer, my focus on the game is guaranteed to be broken by a straight 5 minutes of cackling. When I see people expressing their merriment, I find myself blissfully smiling as well. Even on the days that aren't the brightest, there's always something to bring out the joy in me and remind me that this is what we were put on Earth to do. I can't help but seek out any reason to do what I love most – to laugh. - ALAV MADANI
Caption: My friends and I smile at the camera as my sister stands over us to take the photo. We were celebrating my 16th birthday, and were laughing at ourselves because we thought the photo wouldn't turn out well.
Campfire love
The snow lands softly on my coat, the flurries creating a winter wonderland around us. For a moment, the world feels still. Nothing but collecting the proper souvenirs and drinking hot chocolate mattered. Togetherness that feels like our own little infinity, as we attempt to recreate this getaway with campfires and monthly hangouts. If the tall mountains and wide lakes brought us a distraction, a solution, or an escape, then I’ll visit that trip in my mind, through a nostalgic song or photo album time and time again, any moment I can. - CAMILA CHANDLER
Caption: Our last night in Yellowstone was spent sitting around the fire, roasting s'mores and softly singing. This was the best possible ending to a trip filled with so much love.
A love-hate relationship
We see each other every day. He wanders near my house; I talk, he listens. We run together, and I feel lighter. Then, suddenly, he flips—tail fluffed, pupils sharp, claws out. Moments later, he’s back to his sweet, calm self. His mood swings are out of the blue, but that’s part of the fun. Laughing, running, talking—he’s always there. Lolo, my neighbor’s cat, gives me something to look forward to every day. Our love-hate relationship never ends, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. - AYANA KHAN
Caption: My neighbor’s cat, Lolo, relaxes on my driveway. He had claimed my driveway as his favorite resting spot.
Relearned love
There has always been one constant in my life. No matter what was going on in my life, I always played volleyball. Just like one would get tired of having PB&J for lunch every day, I got tired of constantly playing volleyball. When my ability was temporarily taken away due to an injury, I never expected to miss something that I always wanted a break from. Volleyball is more than a game to me. It’s a reminder that sometimes it requires a step back to be able to find joy in every opportunity. - EVA MUSCAL
Caption: My sister, Jordan, and I smile for a picture before going to our first volleyball practice. I begged my mom to sign me up after watching my sister play at the YMCA.
My other half
Bharatanatyam. Brothers. Purple. Bookworm. Name it, and we had it in common. We still do. I remember the first time I met my best friend. That five-foot girl was the most intimidating person I ever saw. Proof: when I finally mustered up the courage to wave to her, I never received a wave back (I learned later she just has bad eyesight). I avoided her, until she came up to me. That five-minute conversation changed my life. I went home and told my parents, “I think I just found my doppelganger” and never looked back. - DHARA AGRAWAL
As I walked along the Water Garden Terrace, admiring how the sun caught the light, my eye caught a girl striding alongside me. When the sun hit her face, she was so pretty I thought she was a water nymph who had spawned out of the fountain I had been admiring. Within seconds of talking to her, I thought she was a stalker. Bharatnatyam. Brothers. Purple. Bookworm. There was no way we had all that in common. Now, the face of that water nymph-stalker is one of my favorite faces in the world. It’s the face of my best friend. - MALKA MOHAN
Clifford.mp4
“You can read this book by itself. Do you want gēge’s help?” my brother asks, holding “Hello Clifford.” “No. Emi do, Emi do, EMI DO!” I whine. Seconds later, I’m distracted. “Hi Emi!” I shout to the camera over and over. He laughs. “She’s going to watch this after she grows up,” he says softly. And I did—countless times. Many with him, both of us bursting out in laughter every time I confidently say “up dup” instead of “goes up.” We are eight years, four months and 1066 miles apart. Somehow, there is no distance at all. - EMILYN SUN
Caption: My gēge, older brother, is on my right. He's not always there. Sometimes he's on my left
Friends by chance, sisters by choice
I smile, looking at my phone: the group chat’s blowing up yet again. ‘Not HVA’ - more like incapable of not talking all day. Maisie, Ellie, Grace, Elle, Emma, Meadow, Carly, and me. The amazing girls I met through volleyball tryouts freshman year. The girls who I’ve stood with and have stood by me through thick and thin. The girls I’m lucky enough to call my sisters. As our final year in one place together comes to an end, I can’t help but wish we had more time. My heart will stay with them no matter where I go. - ELLIE ZACHARIA
Caption: Posing for a photo before our last homecoming dance, I hold my family close. We walked into high school as strangers and now, no one knows me better.
Sisters by chance, friends by choice
I was laying on my bed, endlessly doom scrolling on TikTok, when I came across a video that made me laugh out loud. I leapt off my bed, racing to my sister’s room to show her the hilarious video. “Soli you have to see this-” Oh yea. She’s at college. For most of our lives, we couldn’t stand each other. She was my evil big sister who lived to tease and torment me. One summer, something just clicked. All of a sudden, we were inseparable. Early morning coffee runs, late night Target expeditions, I had the most fun whenever I was with her. Maybe we had finally matured, or perhaps we finally understood each other. Whatever the reason, somehow, my biggest bully had magically transformed into my ride or die. I just wish we were best friends when she was still right across the hall. - BETHEL KIFLE
Caption: I first heard this saying in “Liv and Maddie,” one of our favorite Disney Channel shows growing up. I never related to it until now.
The air no longer shared
She’s third in Texas, but her mom makes a critique, grammatically incorrect. We both catch it. We hold eye contact, one extra blink. It’s all it takes. I fight it, don’t laugh, mom will get mad, but she doesn’t try. It starts subtly, but the temptation burns. We fight laughs that make my chest feel lighter as my abs plead for oxygen. Our hysterics drown the clinking on our parents’ dinner plates. Her laugh is so beautiful, I don’t need words. I think of the beauty that awaits her when I leave. The songs she’ll sing in cars, the boys she’ll obsess over. How I’ll miss her. - ADA ARYA
Caption: My younger sister poses with two ribbons from the Private Schools Interscholastic Association competition. Her competitive energy and fiery personality will be missed when I no longer see her each day.
The three musketeers
I fade in and out of my sleepy coma as the scratching sound at my door hammers against my skull. Defeated, I turn the doorknob and am bombarded by an avalanche of white, fluffy clouds. Except now the clouds are licking and barking at me, passionately wagging their tails for attention. Groggily, I stumble back to bed and pull the covers over my head. The next morning, I wake up to the scraping sound yet again. Today is Valentine’s Day. I realize that, all along, my Three Musketeers have been showing me small acts of love. - ANGELINA TAO
Caption: I call my three dogs “The Three Musketeers” because of their feisty personalities, their indestructible dynamic and unwavering loyalty to each other. Living with them for half a decade has taught me to appreciate the little things in life and to show my appreciation for those I love every chance I get.
Familial fighting
I really don’t like my older sister. She’s annoying and bossy and overly organized and corrects me when I swear and always knows how to piss me off. But even if those are the reasons I don’t like her, they’re all the reasons that I love her. When she left for Nacogdoches two years ago — Axe ‘Em, Jacks! — her absence made me understand our bickering was just another language for love. I would rather hear her lectures and corrections every day than only get to see her on holidays. Even if she sucks, it all means that she cares; I care. - DAVIS ADAMS
Caption: My sister and I have a three-year age gap, putting us both at very different times in life developmentally as we grew up. However, we still found ways to (lovingly) argue nonetheless.
Come up
Our house always seems empty. The lights are left on, the laundry sits on the couch, unfolded. Mom and Dad stay in the office, the living room and kitchen are deserted. The only sound emitted trails from the staircase. Upstairs, the air is filled with laughter, an imperceptible charge trapped eight feet high. We lay on the floor, Olivia Dean on blast, cracking jokes only we find funny. I'm glad my sisters never leave my room. - AUDREY LI
Caption: The carpet staircase leads to the promise of lengthy debriefs, dance sessions, and a million get-ready-with-me's. I inherited the room from my older sister and added my experiences to a place that housed countless memories of her own.
Remember when
She is my rock, and I am hers. She holds me up when I feel like falling down, and I carry her when the world feels heavy. She listens when I cry, and I laugh when she rants. And in a year, she'll be gone. She'll be doing big things, and she'll be working hard to carry the world. Remember when we were young and didn't care at all? When we were just us, and the world was so big, but we were still so far from it and all its noise? - MARIAM SHEIKH
Caption: My cousin and I embrace in front of our favorite theme park ride. We've been close since my birth, only a year after hers.
A ball and a hoop
From the first day I bounced the ball, I knew you were mine forever. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you swish through the net. I imagined hitting game-winning shots, catching ankle breakers and dunking the ball with ease. Nothing matched the immediate satisfaction and fast-paced tempo of the game I love. A love so passionate, you started becoming part of my daily routine. Wake up, eat, hoop, sleep. I’ve bounced and shot the ball more than a thousand times, each time a little sweeter, a little more memorable, and with a lot more love. - MAXIMUS BUI
Caption: Love in the game of basketball is characterized by a deep commitment to the sport. My love for basketball had been claimed when I was 10 years old.
Busy or not
I like to remember a simpler time, when I wasn’t swamped with homework and extracurriculars. When I could actually afford to spend four hours of my day laughing with Meagan and Ariella on the phone. When I could spend three hours at the mall with them, walking around until our legs fell off. When everything was hilarious. Though life has gotten busy, we are still there for each other. Every last-minute hangout, every random text, every call is a reminder that our love for each other is eternal. - KRISTINE SZETO
Caption: My friends and I go on a ramen date. This took place just three short days after Valentine's Day last year.
The stranger is my friend
I saw him for the first time when I was red in the face and drenched with sweat. My skirt sagged low on my hips, and my shirt had ridden up from my backpack, lurching up and down. He was an older man sitting alone, a bowl of soup in front of him. He looked up slowly, his eyes tired and sunken, and his skin plagued with a ghastly pallor. He smiled and waved, as if he was siphoning a vision of someone else through me, and so I smiled and waved right back. - AVA NOVAK
Caption: Wearing white sneakers and a long skirt that had ridden low from the waist, I take a seat at the restaurant, noticing an older man waving at me. Though I didn't know him, I waved back like he was an old friend.
Pulled into his orbit
S'mores isn't just a cat; he's my sun, or maybe a whole planet with its own gravitational pull. Every morning, he blares at my bedroom door for attention, demanding devotion with a single slow blink. I reluctantly yield, cranky at the interruption while stars still shine through my window, but then he rolls onto his back, belly glowing like a new moon, and my eyes soften involuntarily. Loving him was easy, instant even. Leaving my bed as he sprawled across my legs, however, was impossible. - MADISON BASS
Caption: S'mores takes a nap on top of a white comforter. It is his favorite spot to rest.
Quiet moments between laughs
With one of my friends in the group, if somebody says something strange in class, we look at each other and laugh. With another friend, I’ve been around her so long that we laugh similarly. Then there’s the friend I’ve known the longest—I can’t stay mad around her. She’s funny, out-of-pocket, and never has a dull moment. It’s bittersweet because I’m grateful to have them, but high school makes me appreciate the time I have left with them. We joke a lot and don’t really talk about sappy stuff, but deep down, I think: I’m grateful for my friend group. - SURIYAH ANTHONY
Caption: Anthony and her close-knit group of friends pile into her car on the way to celebrate her sweet 16th birthday. The friend circle, some of whom had known each other since third grade, shared a bond that has lasted for years.