Aug. 16, 2012

Dear diary,

Today was my first day at STA. It felt weird. But the plaid here is cuter than my grade school’s. I met a girl second period in Mrs. Dolan’s class. She sat in front of me, and she has a One Direction button on her pink backpack. She also has “Save Ferris” written on everything she owns. I think I want to be friends with her. I ate lunch with Hallie and her cross country friends today, and she made it a point to make me feel welcomed. I know she’ll go far here. After school today, I sat in Mr. Whitney’s room to wait for my carpool. He is kind of weird. I like it. There was another girl in there that seemed to know him. She’s a freshman, but I think she’s from a feeder school. I think she said she’s in choir. She seems too cool to be my friend.

14 year-old Maggie

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Oct. 1, 2012

Dear diary,

Grace Girardeau asked me to hang out with her today after school. It was the first time anyone has asked me that yet at STA. She told me where she lived, and I walked there by myself. When I got to her house, that Ferris Bueller girl was there too. Her name is Violet. Grace’s house is under construction so we ate pizza on the patio. Grace has an Obama phone case. I wonder how many democrats go to STA. I am not one of them.

14 year-old Maggie

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March 5, 2013

Dear diary,

Sorry it’s been so long. Not much has happened so far. I did Mad for Plaid but we lost because Violet’s not proportional. My club soccer team broke up, and I considered joining a new one but decided not to. I made the cut today for STA’s freshman soccer team. I am super excited to play but I’m one of the worst on the team. I’m also friends with that girl from Mr. Whitney’s room, Lily, and a girl in my advisory, Audrey. We talk about Harry Styles a lot.

15 year-old Maggie

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Aug. 29, 2013

Dear diary,

Today I joined Drama club. I couldn’t pass up the application because it was so funny. I am also doing hair and makeup crew for “Urinetown.” I think it sounds weird, but I looked it up, and apparently it’s a big deal. It’s about people who legally cannot pee in public restrooms, which makes me sad because that would be such a hard life. Awareness is key. I’ve learned that. I’m starting to be more aware of things in my world.

15 year-old Maggie

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Aug. 30, 2013

Dear diary,

School started a few weeks ago, but I got my first Himes paper back today. I got a 21/25. I think I got the worst grade in the class. I really don’t think I am good at writing, and I don’t like it much. But I like my journalism class, so it’s okay. I wish my schedule could have worked out so I could have taken this class last year instead of drawing. It’s the first class that I’ve really liked so far.

15 year-old Maggie

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Jan. 6, 2014

Dear diary,

Today is my sixteenth birthday. And today is a snow day! I am spending the day at home, which some people think is sad, but I need a day to myself. Also, I recently began getting letters from like 1,000 different colleges–most of which I’ve never heard of. It’s weird to think of the next chapter when I still feel like I haven’t found myself at STA yet.

16 year-old Maggie

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Feb. 24, 2014

Dear diary,

Today the new staff list for DartNewsOnline was posted. I made it! I am so excited to join staff. I’ll be a writer and a photographer. I wonder which one I will like more.

16 year-old Maggie

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May 16, 2014

Dear diary,

Today was the last day of sophomore year, and let me tell you, I am very relieved. I worked my butt off to do well this year. Hopefully all those colleges will notice my hard work–I mean, I didn’t do it for nothing. I wonder where I will go to college. I hope I don’t follow my sister to K-State. I want to do my own thing.

16 year-old Maggie

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Oct. 15, 2014

Dear diary,

I got in my first car accident today. I’ve had my license for only, like, two months, and I already wrecked Sid pretty badly. I hope he’ll forgive me. I also think it’s funny that it happened at the intersection of 57th and Main. You know they say that car accidents are more likely to happen by your home? Well, I don’t know the science behind that, but I do know that it’s true in my case. STA is feeling like my home.

16 year-old Maggie

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Mar. 19, 2015

Dear diary,

Today I went on my first college visit. It was at KU. I hated it. So I guess that’s that. I hate how half of your high school career is devoted to the college search. All I want to do is be in high school. I don’t want to take STA for granted–it’s college prep, but it’s so much more too. This year has been life-changing. I’ve found my groove, I’ve expanded my friend group to about half our class and I have discovered that I’m a democrat. Funny how things change.

17 year-old Maggie

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April 15, 2015

Dear diary,

Today I received an email saying I have been chosen as a Dart editor-in-chief. It feels so right. This room, D204, is my place. I love writing, too. Sure, I have loved JCL and being a new Missouri state officer, and being in STA theater productions has been a blast, but this publication room is the spot where I need to be next year.

17 year-old Maggie

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May 29, 2015

Dear diary,

Today I got back from Kairos. I’ve never felt more close to STA than I do now. It’s weird, too, because I am at a crossroads with my Catholic faith, and I am unsure of where I want it to lead me. But I do know that I want to be a better person and a brighter light in the lives of others. That’s the only thing on my senior year bucket list.

17 year-old Maggie

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Aug. 13, 2015

Dear diary,

Today I started senior year. I just reread my earlier entries, and I am amazed at how far I’ve come. I used to write about daily occurrences and unimportant details. But now, I want to reflect. I want to remember not what I do, but how I feel. And today I feel so happy. I can’t believe my senior year has begun. I’m not sure what the future holds, but that’s okay. All I know is that I want to be myself. I am so lucky to be in a place that accepts me, and all of me.

17 year-old Maggie

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Oct. 5, 2015

Dear diary,

Today I finished Siddhartha. It’s just what I needed to read after having some of my lasts: my last Teresian dance, my last first day of high school. I am feeling God more in my life now. I know that things in my life cannot be this good without God. STA could not mean as much to me without something greater.

17 year-old Maggie

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Feb. 15, 2016

Dear diary,

Today, for the second time, I visited the place I want to go to college. I know it’s the place I want to be. Want to know how I know, diary? Here’s the deal: it’s the first place I’ve been to that makes me feel like I’m at STA. I feel the same way on its campus as I do in the quad. The professors already know me like my STA teachers do. And I have had an epiphany: my entire college search was just for the place that made me feel like I’m at STA. At home.

18 year-old Maggie

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May 5, 2016

Dear diary,

Today I drove home in tears. I can’t believe my final issue of the Dart is out, and that I am done at STA, save for a few finals. My jobs are done. My clubs are over. My classes have wrapped up. My squad is splitting up. And everyone is saying that it’s bittersweet, but for me it’s 99 percent bitter and only 1 percent sweet. Sure, I’m glad to be done with the most stressful and grueling year of my life. But it hurts so much more, because while I know I am prepared for the next step, I’m not really ready yet. I can’t imagine leaving this quad. Leaving my advisory. Leaving my classes. Leaving my home. I don’t want it to happen just yet. I need a little more time here.

18 year-old Maggie

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May 10, 2016

Dear diary,

Today was my last day of school. I have cried five times: in my Theology and Media class, in AP Lit, at the park with Lily, on my way home from the park, and right now, as I write my final goodbye to STA. Reading the notes on my white polo made me realize just how amazing this school is. It’s a place where you can be yourself, in the purest sense of the word. Everyone is there for you, whether you know it or not. You always have your sisters when you need someone to lean on. It’s a place that offers you every opportunity you need to do what you love. It’s a place where your friends are your sisters and your campus is your home. Of course I don’t want to leave. Who would want to move on from a place this great? Why else would I be crying so much on my last day of school? This doesn’t happen everywhere. STA is one of those few great blessings we get in our lives. Joining a group of alumnae from the past 150 years is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. STA is a special place. And though I have left campus for the last time, I know will never be far from home.

Loved STA,

18 year-old Maggie