Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

My experience collaborating with Choate on our last issue was awful. Hopefully, you know what I’m talking about: it’s the one with the green borders that we scattered around campus on Choate Day. To put it bluntly, Choate’s communication was awful. I felt like Choate’s EIC didn’t have the authority to decide their own ar- ticle due dates, send-to-print, or distribution dates without com- municating with us. This led to many conversations that got us nowhere and led to their advisor stepping in and disrupting our schedule last minute. Additionally, I felt backstabbed by their editorial board. For our eight-page collab- orative issue, I agreed to allocate Choate four pages and Deerfield three if the front page could high- light the Scroll’s 100th anniversa- ry. The front page I received from their layout team didn’t have a sin- gle word dedicated to our special year—I was told they forgot. Any- way, we redid the layout ourselves.

Not only was this issue the most tortuous one I’ve gone through at the helm of the Scroll, it was also a special issue that I envisioned, enticed by the prospect of bring- ing excitement to Choate Day and the Scroll. Thus, when I was going through difficulties trying to make this issue go through to print, I oc- casionally thought to myself: This isn’t part of my responsibilities as EIC. It’s giving me a headache. Why am I even doing this issue?

In November—the gloomiest month of the year according to Thriveworks, a mental health firm based in Amherst—it is easy to fall into this cyclical and de- pressive train of thought. As seasonal depression peaks and final projects and assessments over- whelm you in November, you might think to yourself: why am I even trying this hard in school? You might think your future is bleak. You might lose hope. Please don’t. Think about the upcoming holiday season. Think about spending time with your friends and family, laugh- ing around a dinner table. Or do something else that gives you motivation, gives you hope. Frankly, I don’t care what you do, but I hope that you’ll do something to ground yourself, put your struggles in perspective, realize they are small in the grand scheme of life and that you’ll get through them. Prioritize finding any source of meaning to what you are doing, and chase it.

In the case of the Scroll, I wished to see students and alumni and new readers appreciate us and this unique issue, to tell me that they were interested in what they saw and couldn’t wait for the next issue to be published. And seeing Michael, Tai, Jack, Maggie, Tucker, Declan, and Lalwani, amongst others, all reach out to me and compliment both the way our issue was laid out and the articles within, I would do this issue again, 100 times over.

Even if you are perfectly fine in November, things are going well for you, and you are excited for the upcoming holidays, reach out to your friends and family. Let them know you are there for them. Many times, those struggling si- lently are also going through the deepest shit, and you just being present can do so much more for them than you could ever know.

For seniors especially, this is our last fall term. And I know for most of us, especially myself, we’ve been consumed by a fixation with college applications, academics, extracurriculars, and friendships. This is all okay, and even natural. Yet I hope that you will also take a step back and reflect upon your fi- nite Deerfield days, during which you’ll inevitably realize it’s coming to an end. So instead of wishing for this period of uncertainty over your next four years to speed up, hope that it will slow down, that you can check off another buck- et list item before you graduate.

To all of Deerfield, stay strong, stay happy, and stay united. I’m confident we’ll get through this seasonal depression and be better than ever, together.

Yours in Service,

John Qi Liu