Skyline Writing Center

Backyard Ice Rink

Caroline Vance (’23) shares memories from her backyard ice rink. “In each corner of the rink, tall wooden poles connect strings of soft glowing lights, which extend around the perimeter of the rink, and there is one center pole that holds a spotlight as bright as a full moon, so that during the long winter nights, we can still skate under a frosty glow. “

Our backyard ice rink that my dad puts up every winter is 80’ by 60’ and takes about thirty man (dad) hours to build, fifty hours to flood, and a total of 35,000 gallons of water. It is made of long plywood boards, decorated on the outside with colorful costumed penguins that my sister and I painted over the years. In each corner of the rink, tall wooden poles connect strings of soft glowing lights, which extend around the perimeter of the rink, and there is one center pole that holds a spotlight as bright as a full moon, so that during the long winter nights, we can still skate under a frosty glow.

I remember one winter when my sister and I were both in middle school, we had a massive blizzard that even the snow trucks couldn’t get through to plow the roads. That night, as soon as we heard news of the snow day we rushed out to shovel the snow off the ice and played hockey until the early hours of the morning. We were so hot from playing so much that we ended up in our t-shirts, in sub-zero weather.

Another winter, during the Covid-19 pandemic, we invited our neighborhood friends to come skate since it was outdoors and socially distanced. This made the lonely virtual school days go by much quicker.

Whether it’s due to global warming or just a strangely warm Michigan winter, this season we’ve had, for most days, a tragic, massive puddle sitting in our backyard instead of a skateable ice rink. Looking out on fifty degree days and seeing this giant pool of water has inspired mixed emotions in me; on the one hand, it’s warm enough to run safely and comfortably in Michigan February (!), but on the other hand, we miss the magical moonlight skating until 2 in the morning with only the snow-covered backyard trees as our witness. I hope this winter was only a fluke and not a foreshadowing of climate change to come.

Empathy in College Essay Writing

El Myers (’23) reflects on getting tutored for a college essay and how Skyline writing center approaches this vulnerable writing situation. Skyline writing center tutors are “…trained in empathic tutoring policies, and undoing the power dynamic between tutor and tutee is one that we take with great caution and sensitivity.”

In my opinion there is 4 big reasons why building empathy in tutoring is important:

Builds trust: When tutors show empathy, students feel more comfortable opening up and sharing their concerns, fears and challenges. This builds trust between the tutor and student, which is critical for effective learning.

Enhances communication: Empathy helps tutors to understand their students’ perspectives, which in turn helps them to communicate more effectively. Tutors who are empathetic can explain concepts in a way that resonates with students’ understanding, leading to better engagement.

Fosters motivation: When students feel understood and valued, they are more likely to be motivated to learn. Tutors who show empathy can help students to stay motivated by acknowledging their efforts, celebrating their successes, and providing support when challenges arise.

Promotes learning: Empathy enables tutors to tailor their teaching approach to each student’s unique needs, which promotes learning over telling. Tutors who are empathetic can identify areas where students may need more support and provide targeted guidance and feedback.

In September of my senior year I brought what I considered to be my “final draft” of my college essay to the admissions counselor at the CUBE at Skyline and had an extraordinarily distressing experience: my paper was brutalized. My ideas were deconstructed with a red pen. When I questioned the counselor on why they thought my personal essay about connecting my physical expression to my gender identity was “not good” and their response was,

“Your identity is not ideal for a college admissions officer. You seem confused about your gender identity, this is not optimal.”

I was left speechless. After I left the CUBE I closed the tab to my personal essay that I loved and I did not look at it again for 2 months.

2 months.

When I came back to this essay I made some changes on my own terms and brought it to a few friends I had in the Skyline writing center. It was there that I was lifted up and told that the writing I accomplished was delightful and that the story I was telling is one that must be told with pride.

As I submitted this writing to various colleges and showed it to my trusted teachers and friends I thought more about the interaction I had with the CUBE and I had one thought: what if this happened to someone else? I have been trained through the writing center since my freshman year and I was actively teaching lessons on tutor etiquette as a writing center leader; even still I was so distraught by this interaction that I had to stop writing for two months. What would have happened to a writer with less writing confidence than I? Someone who hadn’t been trained in writing justice and vulnerability? What could’ve happened to an incredible piece of work?

I believe wholeheartedly that the CUBE and the writing center both need to exist within Skyline and I am well aware that the focuses of each are individual and different. However, if the CUBES mandate is to help students who are college bound, particularly in personal writing formats, that is what the writing center specializes in. We are trained in empathic tutoring policies, and undoing the power dynamic between tutor and tutee is one that we take with great caution and sensitivity. No writer should ever be told that their identity is “invalid” and “not suitable for college purposes” under any circumstances. The CUBE and the writing center must collaborate to undo the dichotomy of being above and below one another and work together so all students are tutored fairly and justly.

How the environments we grow up in affects our self-expression

Nicole Grant (’23) reflects on the connections between self expression and social and emotional growth.
“There are constantly new trends following the line of “this is what I looked like before quarantine, and this is what I look like after”. Because of this, I’ve had the opportunity to see how my friends and other people I know have changed over the course of our high school years and how being able to express yourself has affected them.”

Our personalities, speech, mannerisms, and even how we dress, are influenced by the people we encounter, as well as the environments we grow up in, specifically our school environments.

In Catholic private schools, usually, everyone wears the same uniforms and often everyone is Catholic, if not Christian. Uniforms are not uncommon or unusual in private schools, most likely implemented to give the school a reputation of being polished and well-kept. Depending on the school, there may even be rules against wearing makeup and dying your hair unnatural colors, thus barring multiple outlets of self-expression.

Whether this is meant to create unity by abolishing anything that could be perceived as different or staying true to uniformity, the creativity and self-expression of students is extinguished. A reason for this could be that the fear of self-expression could lead to the exploration of sexuality or gender, which would cause social perturbance at a religious school.

Having been in both public and private schools, I’ve been exposed to two entirely different environments. Here at Skyline, there are many students who have their own way of presenting themselves, whether that be in their mannerisms, gender, sexual identity, or even their principles and perspectives on social issues. I believe this is because we are not a school that is solely based on one religion or idea. Because of this, there is no fear that students will believe in something different than what is considered “normal”.

Being able to express ourselves is important, especially as we are growing up. Who we are as a person, and what we believe in, is going to change as we experience life. Not being able to be who you are creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and puts you at a disadvantage to grow as a person. Seeing other perspectives from a demographic of people that you are not a part of opens your mind and provides new insight into how people other than you live. When students are surrounded by people who’ve only experienced the same things as them, they become unaware and indifferent to issues that affect other people.

There are constantly new trends following the line of “this is what I looked like before quarantine, and this is what I look like after”. Because of this, I’ve had the opportunity to see how my friends and other people I know have changed over the course of our high school years and how being able to express yourself has affected them.

Because I now go to a school that is not strict about what I wear and how I think, I’ve had the opportunity to change a lot about myself. If I had stayed at my previous high school, I’d probably still have long hair that’s never been dyed and I wouldn’t have been exposed to social and political issues.

Schools that do not allow students to fully express themselves do not foster the growth of the individual.

Go Thrifting and Buy Less

As part of her badge project, Avivah Mitchel (’23) researched how to people can make more sustainable choices in what they choose to buy. “Go thrifting and buying less, not only does it help with reducing the amount of waste in landfills, but also, lessens the impact those items created in production.”

Capitalism takes advantage of us at our most vulnerable time: high school.

Already in a period of change and self-discovery, we are subject to a continuous cycle of purchasing fast fashion, new beauty products, micro-trends, ephemeral room decor, and other unnecessary items, at heightened degrees. It’s difficult to avoid when trends are created mostly for and by people our age, but it is time for us to start making mindful purchases.

Our generation is largely discontented by the negative impact and harmful decisions made by the generations before us. We are fighting to take back control and save our planet, but we remain victim to consumerist habits that lead to plastic and clothing waste, as well as harmful spending choices. While we do not have the largest impact on the oil companies, big corporations, conventional factory farms, and government officials who determine the fate of our environment, we can take control of what is in our scope of discipline as high school students: where and how we spend our money, and what we buy.

Sustainable clothing, makeup, and other types of brands are becoming more popular, but they continue to be expensive and inaccessible to many. Sustainable materials that are plant-based and ethically sourced have higher production costs than non-sustainable materials like single-use plastics, which contribute to pollution. Though supporting and shopping through sustainable brands is good, there are already so many things in circulation. Buying second-hand is better, and choosing to buy less, is best.

A combination of thrifting, vintage shopping, wearing hand-me-downs, mending/upcycling, and shopping sustainable brands are all good options toward sustainable living. These are all things that have been around for ages. Not only are they the more sustainable option, but it is also often cheaper to shop these ways! One misconception about thrifting is that we are taking away clothes from those who cannot afford to shop otherwise, but we must debunk that myth. There are so many clothes in circulation right now and a majority of them go into landfills. It becomes a problem when people thrift and then resell those items at a higher cost, making them yet again, inaccessible. Go thrifting and buy less, not only does it help with reducing the amount of waste in landfills, but also, lessens the impact those items created in production.

When making changes in my life to live more sustainably and consciously, I often fear judgment from those living “more sustainable” lives than me. I feel like my hands are tied and there’s too much pressure to reach a certain standard, but all that matters is that we take steps to do what we can to make positive changes in our lives. Sustainability is marketed in a way that makes it seem completely unattainable and inaccessible, but truthfully, sustainable changes are often more accessible than the alternative. Removing this expectation of being 100% sustainable alleviates the feeling that if you can’t be good enough, you shouldn’t try. If it isn’t possible to be 100% green, that doesn’t need to be your goal — start one step at a time. That first step can be with our shopping and reducing consumption of unnecessary items. The impact individuals have is small, but as a collective, these changes can make significant impacts.

Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, let’s all make small changes toward living a more sustainable lifestyle. In addition to these changes, when possible, we must place pressure on big oil companies, corporations, and banks to redirect their funds and choices, push government officials to make a legislative change, vote for politicians who support environmental justice, expose billionaires and their unethical practices, boycott fast fashion brands that utilize sweatshops, buy local, organic, and ethically sourced food, and be a conscious citizen to the best of our abilities. We must understand that it is not our responsibility to do all of the work, but we cannot ignore it either.

Working in the Restaurant Industry Teaches Empathy and Responsibility

Bella Simonte (’23) writes about how the lessons learned from a job in the service industry go far beyond simply dealing with difficult customers. Things that, “if everyone learned, we’d live in a much more harmonious and compassionate world.”

I have been fortunate enough to grow up in the bubble that is Ann Arbor. Aside from Detroit, Ann Arbor is one of the more diverse cities in Michigan in terms of culture, race, economics, and political beliefs. Being a college town, Ann Arbor has access to many different ideologies and people who come from all over the world to indulge in the University of Michigan’s facilities; they come to grow their perception of the world. Though Ann Arbor is more diverse than other areas in Michigan, I still grew up in a predominantly white, middle class neighborhood going to predominantly white, middle-upper class schools, developing an inherent ignorance of the world’s atrocities. That is, until I started working in the service industry.

I’m currently a hostess at Mani Osteria, a fine dining Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor. As my first job, I didn’t know what to expect going into it. I thought I’d simply be walking people to their tables and dealing with the occasional irritated guest. I didn’t expect to learn how to read people by a simple shift in their body or assert an authority I didn’t know I had. Even just working for a year and a half has taught me a lot. Things that I think if everyone learned, we’d live in a much more harmonious and compassionate world.

Understanding the divide between wealthy and customer service workers: Coming from an upper middle class family, I didn’t expect any kind of divide between me and the guests I was serving. I assumed we were equals, only I was welcoming them into the restaurant and they were the ones partaking. I still don’t know if it was naive or optimistic to think. Nevertheless, I quickly understood that even if I didn’t see it, guests definitely saw a giant wall separating me and them; they were there to enjoy time with family or friends, and I was the one to service them. I’ve been bribed and guilted into giving guests what they want. They assume money is the only thing that matters to a person making minimum wage, therefore being an effective tool to manipulate them with. I could smile, joke, or empathize with a guest all I want, but the only way they think to get my attention is by paying for it.

I’ve always been an introverted, independent worker. I believe if I want something done right, I have to do it myself. I intended for hosting to be an outlet of control for me, being the only person at the stand who dictates who gets sat where and to which server, the entire balance of the restaurant resting in my hands. I was sorely mistaken when I had to communicate five birthdays, two shellfish allergies, and a wheel chair lift to four different servers and managers on my first day. I was in for a rude awakening that working in a restaurant is a collaborative effort. However, I chose to ignore it, sticking to my firm beliefs that I can handle whatever problem I get myself into. When I went over on a guest, I would barricade them by the door so there was little chance of my managers finding out how unhappy they were. It wasn’t until I went thirty minutes over on a guest, sitting two employees before them, did they yell at me in front of my manager and I was forced into changing my ways. It took some getting used to and new skills in future telling, but I learned to not be afraid to admit when I mess up and ask for help. The more hands on a problem the more chances there are of fixing it, and the more burden to be spread evenly rather than just on me.

As Anthony Bourdain once said, “You can always tell when a person has worked in a restaurant. There’s an empathy that can only be cultivated by those who’ve stood between a hungry mouth and a $28 pork chop, a special understanding of the way a bunch of motley misfits can be a family.”