The Eighth Page

Phillipian Satire: Upper Can’t Decide Whether It’s Harder To Be at Andover, To Be Seventeen, Or Just to Be Her

Noting the near constant feelings of frustration and sadness with which she operates daily, Sarah Danielson ’18 reported this week the impossibility of pinpointing exactly what causes her anxiety and stress.

“My first instinct was that Andover’s toxic and competitive atmosphere was the root of my insecurity and unhappiness. But then I thought, maybe this is just puberty. After all, you’re always hearing from adults that high school is one of the hardest parts of your life: you’re forming your identity, you’re struggling to make sense of your own existence, you’re trying to fit in, all that stuff,” said Danielson.

“At second glance, though,” Danielson continued, “I looked around and realized that all my friends don’t really deal with these issues in the same way that I do, and now I feel like maybe it’s just a me problem.

“Especially now that the weather’s nicer, and everyone’s out on the lawn having a good time, and seemingly happy, and I’m inside working. But then again, maybe they’re just better at hiding their problems.

“So I guess it could be all of Andover or all high schoolers. I would ask someone, but I don’t want to seem vulnerable.”