Commentary by KatieZinna

Marian is well known for its welcoming and positive atmosphere that inspires girls to be themselves. But the school itself has nothing to do with this warm environment, it’s the students inside that make a difference. 

When walking through the hallways, it’s easy to see how comfortable students are with each other. Even early in the morning, Marian girls are quick to laugh, have huge smiles and have an overall cheerful attitude. 

This is how students make a difference in our school. Instead of being crabby about having to wake up early or whining about a test coming up (even though that does occasionally happen), you can always count on Marian students to face the upcoming day with smiles on their faces. 

Smiling at others is not only beneficial to others, but also to yourself. Smiling helps to trick your brain into thinking more positively, but it can also make someone else’s day. 

Senior Rory Wright-Kent, who was recently named one of the Students of the Month for the month of January by Omaha’s Optimist Club, said, “It’s about showing love to everybody. If I smile at a person, even if they don’t smile back, it just makes me feel good that I shared the bit of love that I have with other people.”

While smiling can improve moods, it also helps students to connect with and form strong bonds with their peers. Counselor Mrs. Amanda Losee said, “A smile really connects people. It’s like a drop in a river or into a lake where you start the smile and then it just kind of ripples out.”

Smiling at one person is all it takes. By smiling at a friend or stranger in the hall, you raise their spirits, encouraging them to smile at someone else. When they do so, a ripple effect takes hold and it won’t be long before the hallway is full of smiles and laughter. 

Marian is all about forming connections and building relationships with other students, faculty and staff members. A simple smile is all it takes to start off a friendship on the right foot. 

By smiling at those you don’t know, any feelings of unrest or unease dissipate and a sense of belonging takes their place, motivating girls to relax and be themselves. 

Marian girls simply make a difference with their positivity. Losee said, “Marian girls bring the spirit. If our culture here at Marian is a positive culture, and if our culture here is to help others and, you know, to lift others up, you can’t create that by forcing people to do it. It has to be a choice, and that has to be an inner personal choice by every single person.”

“A smile can really change a day. There are some days I walk into Marian and I woke up late, didn’t have time to get ready and didn’t eat breakfast. When I see my friends and everyone who’s happy, that makes my whole day turn around,” freshman Maeve McGill said. 

Having a positive mindset can be difficult, but choosing to be happy and smile at others can have a massive impact on a school’s atmosphere. 

When walking into Marian, you know when it’s going to be a rough day. There just seems to be an overall feeling of stress in the air. Whether Marian girls have a hard test coming up, a project due or one million pounds of homework, their feelings ripple throughout the student body. 

That’s why it’s so important to wear a smile on your face and bring cheerfulness to everyone you see. The way students act, talk and think greatly influences the people around them, whether it’s visible or not. 

“It’s important to smile at strangers,” McGill said, “because you never really know what someone’s going through. If you can smile at someone, that can make a whole lot of change.

As Rory Wright-Kent said, “A smile can go a long way.”

Zoey Ridder ’28 and Talia DeGeorge ’28 share a laugh in the freshman hallway before school.  It didn’t hurt that the day was also a BYOB (Bring Your Own Blanket) Day for Catholic Schools Week.  Photo by Katie Zinna.