When I first got placed in The Echo, I was quaking in my boots. Due to me forgetting all about elective applications 2 hours after they were due, I was placed in The Echo by default. I was also scared of Ms. Hesseltine. All I knew about her was that she was always hidden away in her little C5 cave. Despite this, the experience I’ve had this semester is one I wouldn’t give up. Both C5, and Ms. Hesseltine have changed my opinions. I don’t know if it’s that the Stockholm syndrome is kicking in or what, but I have learned to enjoy my time in the Echo. Even if I wasn’t placed here by choice, I feel like it worked out for the best.

–Adonis Capellan Cedano

One thing I love about HSMSE is that everyone is so accepting of me. In elementary and middle school, I tried really hard to be as ‘normal’ as possible so people wouldn’t bully me. But here, I don’t feel worried at all about fitting in or having to be someone I’m not. I found a lot of friends who appreciate me just the way I am, and I feel comfortable being myself. It’s the best thing ever.

-Astrid Clayton

I love the test corrections that some of my classes provide. Thank you test corrections, for single handedly saving me from multiple failing grades. You aren’t always there for me when I need you, but when you are you make my marking period. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So thank you, and I love you.

-Emily Dow

One of my favorite things about HSMSE are the sports teams. I have met some of my closest friends by joining a sport and it made freshman year easier. I love the sense of community that a team provides and how the whole school can come together to support them. It makes the day go by faster knowing that I have a game after school. Even though it can be hard work, the sports at HSMSE are the best.

–Clodagh Finucane

I’ve always hated walking up the steep hill from the 1 train on the way to school; it’s long, and tiring, and always covered in trash and dog crap. But as I’ve been coming here for longer, it’s grown on me. Now, I love walking down the long hill with my friends at the end of the day, and gazing at the bright murals on the way down. In the warmer months, I’ll stop to get an icee at the cart in the middle of the hill, and take my time walking through the garden area at the bottom. I don’t even mind the calf workout anymore!

–Oliver Grover

Ever since I came to MSE, the hallways have always suffocated me. But now after 2 years I think I’m finally starting to admire them. It’s true that they may be extremely crowded, and even more so between 5th and 6th period. It’s true that they’re filled with plenty of fr*shmen walking down the halls in packs in a way that perfectly blocks the halls. It’s true that they’re old and the paint is peeling. But they wouldn’t be a part of MSE if they weren’t falling apart, and because of that I’ve grown to appreciate them. 

–Jason Huang

Dear Lunch Period, I spend my entire school day daydreaming about reaching you, a blissful break from the actual hellscape that is school. I confess that nothing makes a man happier when the bell rings to go to lunch– something to look forward to every day. Maybe I’m just really hungry, but the only logical conclusion for my attraction to you is that I am unfathomably and irreversibly in love with you. At least, that’s the conclusion I drew.

-Love, Noah Kim

Ode to the A train: I have loved you since I realized that you cut down my commute by 10 minutes. Your speed, elegance, and reliability have given you a special place in my heart, and I’m so grateful for how you connect me to every place in this city.

Siona Lewis-Coffery

To the campus deli: The plethora of food I have purchased from this deli has made me grow a fond love for it. Whether I need a Celsius to get through my afternoon classes or a sandwich for lunch, I can always rely on the deli to have what I need. My HSMSE experience would not be the same without my deli love. 

–Annalie Merkel

Dear ID office in the NAC. We’ve become very close over the past year and a half. I love you for many reasons. For the welcoming employees stationed inside your familiar walls, for your lovely printer that has made bountiful copies of my ID card, and last but not least I love you for how close we have become. You have welcomed me into your sheltered, cozy environment seven times now. One would think that the negative connotation of me spending 70 dollars in a year and a half on IDs would make me dread visiting you. But no. I don’t. I enjoy my 4th period jaunts to the admissions building, and then making my way across the street into your lovely office. ID office in the NAC, I love you.

-Willow Mintz

There are so many things that I love about HSMSE. From the beautiful campus, the coffee cart and halal food truck, and the convenient delis, there’s so much to choose from. But what I appreciate the most are the people that make HSMSE such a welcoming community. To the teachers, the custodial staff, and the friends that I’ve made here at HSMSE, thank you. 

–Audrey Young

The quad is cold in winter and toasty in summer, a logical consequence of being outdoors and thus, reasonably, not having climate control. Despite whatever discomfort may arise from temperature disparities, the quad is a great place to eat lunch every day and build friendships over a sandwich or something.

–Gareth Reis

I am not great at making paper models, or using revit, or even just being quiet. I don’t turn in my work on time, and I definitely don’t stay in my seat. I know I ask a lot of questions, and I take weeks to get a two day project done. But I know you believe that I can improve, and I know that because of your endless encouragement. I love you for every second you have spent supporting me, architecture or not. For you Ms. Rasuk, I dedicate this love letter.

–Elizabeth Raikes

Dear The Echo, As soon as I opened the first pages of The Echo Issue 1, I knew this would be something that would engage with me as much as it did. From the fascinating essays to the creative satire pieces, the articles drew me into the Echo so much that I knew I someday wanted to be a part of it. To The Echo: you are one of the only places where creativity can be expressed this much in such an academic environment, and I appreciate you for it.

-Julian Nguyen