Hobbies are some of the best representations of a person’s personality and values. A hobby is something that you truly care about and enjoy doing. However, recently, I have observed a trend among students. Increasingly, students are adopting a hobby just for the sake of pursuing a future career, improving their grades, or earning extra money. Initially, the existence of hobbies is for people to do the activities that they truly relish. Spending time on their hobbies is a way

This article stemmed from a piece that I read in Harvard Magazine, talking about the hardest driving test in the world. My first question was: What is a driving test? While it is presented in a simpler form in the US, in the UK and other European countries such as France, prospective taxi drivers must have knowledge of the local geography and complete a complex test before taking the wheel. This knowledge is especially important for the taxi drivers in London. The driving tes

As the world goes into an era of science and technology, more and more questions are beginning to arise about the necessity of studying humanities. In 2024, universities nationwide awarded a total of 165,489 bachelor’s degrees which is recorded as the smallest amount since 1991. Additionally, studies in 2025 show that the number of students working towards a bachelor’s degree have been declining every year with the total percentage decrease being 28% since 2015. In the last d

The debate surrounding the importance of going on the Sophomore Wilderness Expedition, often shortened as “Expo,” is as old as the event itself. Originally, I was a skeptic myself. When I first heard of the concept of the expedition as a new sophomore, I was shocked and appalled that so many people willingly chose to attend such a (seemingly) depraved activity. My first impression of Expo came from the horror stories and shock factors that my anti-Expo friend kept feeding me,

On March 30, every 9th-, 10th-, and 11th-grader had to answer the same question: “Which classes will I take next year?” For some, this was an easy choice; others wondered why they had to choose which class would fill their 7th slot or which honors would fill their 4th, or why they couldn’t take dual enrollment. I, curious, asked the policy’s flamekeeper—Mrs. Bates. “We think you can get a really varied and rigorous course load during the academic year here, and we want folks

I can’t remember how many times I’ve wasted an entire day scrolling on social media, and ended up with only exhaustion and nothing actually done. But this isn’t accidental nor a matter of self-control: it reflects the result of carefully designed profit-driven mechanisms that aim to maximize scrolling time. You must have experienced them before; whether it is infinite scrolls that make your time glide away without noticing, or emotional manipulation by creating anxiety, it is

I toss my phone away after seeing the thousandth lazy “Happy Vday, babe!” post on Instagram. Valentine’s Day is cute, but lately, it has been feeling like an exhausting ritual of empty declarations of love. Red roses, heart emojis, matching pajama pictures, expensive dinners, giant stuffed bears. It all blurs together into one highly curated, highly filtered performance. It makes me wonder: has Valentine’s Day lost something? Historically, Valentine’s Day wasn’t always about

2025, Stevenson Dining Hall Photo: Michael Troutman What used to be a trip to Carmel with friends or a shared dining hall meal is now often food dropped off in a bag at Douglass hall. Food delivery apps like DoorDash are quietly changing how students interact with each other, how local restaurants operate, and how boarding school life feels on a daily basis. I am a day student, and while DoorDash is something that I turn to at times, I also have the privilege to live at home

The importance of actually finishing a book This is something that I think applies to a lot of things that we do, finishing a task is very important and can create a feeling of accomplishment. The brain is always looking for a sense of accomplishment and completion. By finishing a book you are training your brain in sustained attention, something that is rare today according to a study by the American Psychological Association. In this study, social media was discovered to

Since the beginning of time, people have rallied, protested, and revolted against issues in society. As students, we are always learning about them in class - from peasants’ revolts to civil rights movements in the 1960s - and oftentimes, they feel so distant and unrelatable to us. In reality, such movements have played a huge part in getting us many of the rights and privileges that we take for granted today, and they are still essential to justice and social change. Though

The season is finally here: fall! Time to watch Gilmore Girls, drink pumpkin lattes, and enjoy as the leaves change their color to red-orange tones. In the case of Pebble Beach, autumn may not be as strong (I’m still waiting for the leaves to fall off the trees), but you can definitely spot a difference from previous months. For someone who has never experienced a stereotypical season in her life, even the mildest change in the Starbucks menu is a reason to celebrate. Growing

Once again, we congratulate the recent Stevenson wins at the beginning of this school year. The volleyball, tennis, and water polo teams began their season strong, with each encounter and fight as they defended their position in our school. Both girls' and boys' teams surprise us every day with their dedication and love for this sport. However, with all this excitement for newer matches and hopes of winning, we forget those activities that are not so competitive. Or simply, n