GaeaKaan

Marian is a magical place. A place where young girls turn into young women and create experiences and friendships that last a lifetime. Going to this school and living through all the Marian traditions we hold so close feels like we’re part of some kind of movie, living through each day like a scene from a show. Especially with the pandemic on the minds of everyone, it makes the days seem more surreal; days turning into months turning into the end of the year. But then that poses the question: which movie would Marian be? Looking at our school’s core values, we can safely narrow it down to the five characteristics that make Marian feel like a cinematic masterpiece.

Compassion describes so many aspects of the Marian community, from the incredible students to the dedicated staff. There is no shortage of care and respect from our school. When I think of that kind of behavior and the loving environment our teachers have worked so hard to achieve, I think of something like Cinderella. The live action remake that Disney produced back in 2015, where the princesses’ words to live by were, “have courage and be kind” ties into the compassionate value everyone in the school possesses, making it feel like something out of a fairy tale like Cinderella. 

Spirituality is a strong core value at Marian, following the Catholic faith and observing its traditions with open-mindedness and respect for other beliefs. The movie I think best represents this trait of spirituality with an open mind is a movie called I Origins, a story of a molecular biologist studying the human eye that addresses the history of humanity’s scientific and spiritual beliefs. Both the movie and our school view the spirituality of every individual and the ways that they practice and present the value. 

Empowerment reminds me of Mamma Mia! which is seriously one of the best musicals out there. It’s a very empowering story of a single mom raising her daughter who goes to look for her dad but eventually realizes that her mom has been there for her all along. It’s a very empowering movie for women and seriously just a fun show with lots of dance numbers and fun music from the 70’s band, ABBA, like the school assemblies where all the girls sing and carry on the Marian traditions. This would be a great movie to describe Marian because it provides a fun little spinoff name, Marian Mia! 

Service is something that is important to the Marian population, seeking out others who need aid. This reminds me of the acts of kindness in The Blind Side, a story based on true events starring Sandra Bullock as the mother who helps change the life of a young man by providing him a home, school and the love he needed. At Marian, the goal of our teachers and administrators is to provide and serve us with the skills and guidance needed to be the best person we can be when we graduate.

Community throughout every individual in Marian, the students, staff and alumni is something unique to Marian. I think it’s safe to say that the involvement of nearly every person within the Marian community is above and beyond the average high school. This definitely reminds me of an older movie called Akeelah and the Bee, a story of an incredibly intelligent girl who overcomes adversity and racism with the help of her neighborhood to win the national spelling bee. The movie uses the community to come together and aid a young girl and her potential, which is exactly what Marian does for its students. 

The more I think about it the more I realize Marian can be a great experience for everyone who passes through the school. The memories you take with you will forever impact who you are, and every experience is different, just like every movie is different. All of our lives and our stories here are what we make them. What genre we want our movie to be, our main characters, the antagonists, the sidekicks: it’s different for everyone. I don’t think Marian is like any other movie, I think it has its own story to tell, just like all of us.