Grace Shay ’10
Managing Editor
For high school students, celebrating a birthday with friends and family can help assuage the stress of homework, tests, and extracurricular activities.
At Staples, the administration displays a flashing “Happy Birthday” electronic sign in the front lobby that rotates through a list of students who are celebrating their special day while at school.
Some parents also choose to display life-size characters near the front entrance to Staples, with a customized birthday message written on it.
Elaine Miller ’12, who recently celebrated her birthday, said that “birthdays at Staples are fun because right when you walk in for the morning, your name is on the screen, your friends are waiting for you, and things magically work out in your favor.”
She noticed that she “also got handshakes from multiple teachers as well as tackle hugs from many friends. One of the best things about my birthday was that a friend baked me one of those giant cupcakes that ended up feeding 15 sophomores!”
For others like Jenny Johnston ’10, January birthdays came right after midterms, which delayed or dampened her celebrations.
“I had midterms on my 18th birthday, so the actual day wasn’t all too exciting,” Johnston said. “So the night before makeup day, my girlfriends and I went into the city and we had a really fun dinner; then a couple more friends met up with us afterwards.”
Chukwuma Onyebuenyi ’11, who just turned 16 years old, echoed Johnston. “I had midterms the same day [as my birthday], so it wasn’t exactly the best day,” he said.
Some students held birthday parties to celebrate. Evan Burke ’11, who turned 17, said, “My girlfriend and my friend’s sister made me cookies and my friends held a birthday rave for me outside of school.”
For others, the benefits of turning a certain age outweighed the fun of having actual parties. When Caroline Hershey ’10 turned 18 in February, she said that she enjoys the benefits that come with being of legal age.
“[I] am now obsessed with scratch-off lottery tickets,” she said, laughing.
