Water The Right Seeds

“Imagine” your own Middlesex experience, rather than someone else’s.

image from: Linda Wang '27

Sitting in the pews for Middlesex’s opening chapel, My friends and I listened attentively to Mr. Bigelow’s rendition of “Imagine” by John Lennon, and begrudgingly understood that this word will define our year in every possible way; however, I wasn’t so sure if this was the word I would choose to define my own year. 

I could imagine Mrs. Speers coming up at announcements and telling us to imagine how amazing it would be if we all went on circle walks, or Ms. Swain telling us to imagine a circle without trash, or my advisor telling me to imagine how good it would feel if I finally got an A in math for a semester. And while I think these interpretations are generally important for the  Middlesex community, I’d like to offer some interpretations of my own. 

As Middlesex kicks off orientation, try-outs, and other first week activities, I’m reminded of how it felt to be a freshman at Middlesex. Overwhelmed, scared, and confused about what a “psyche” was, I was personally imagining a way to get through the year as quickly as possible before I would just transfer back to my old school in New York. But giving Middlesex a chance, it became easier and easier to imagine this school as a place I could not only survive in but thrive in. 

In every chapel, the same message got across: Try Everything. And I tried a lot. I tried out for the play and musical, and was rejected. I tried out for Varsity Basketball and was demoted to Thirds. But even in spite of these brutal rejections, it became easier for me to imagine what Middlesex actually was for me, and one thing it wasn’t was a place to be known as a star basketball player. 

If freshmen can take any piece of advice from our school’s new mantra, I would tell them to stop imagining their peers’ Middlesex experience, and instead imagine your own Middlesex experience—pursuing what makes you happy, not taking yourself too seriously, and not getting caught up in the rigidity of friend groups. 

By Sophomore year—now that I was no longer at the bottom of the MX food chain—I began imagining the year ahead. I could shake off the rejections from last year, try again and succeed. Be even better and even happier than I was at the end of freshman year. This time around, it didn’t feel so much as a rejection than a slight redirection. I tried out for Small Chorus and made SWAG; I tried out for the Main Stage Play and got into the Studio Play; I was cut from JV volleyball, but at least I was captain of Thirds! 

I had needed a perspective change. I had to accept that rejection was actually infused into Middlesex. There are always going to people who tell you that you’re not ready for a part in the play, or a spot on the Varsity roster. My imagination—by measuring myself by the achievements of others—drew a picture of me that wasn’t realistic to who I was, and so I focused my energy into other activities, like Harvard Model Congress, The Anvil, friendships, English and History classes. I learned that if you put your energy into things you love, they will love you back—you just need to water the right seeds.

Kat Stephens '27