Dear reader,
Is this real? Because we never thought we would make it to this point in our St. Paul’s career. But here we are, living proof that it eventually pays off. We hope you all will make it to this point as well, sharing in the journey of tears, failures, and triumphs. After all, who could forget that Gilgamesh essay in Third Form year? Despite the challenges, we somehow pushed through to make it to senior spring, and now we can all begin to reminisce on our shared experiences — both good and bad.
Here we are: we played a doubles tournament together last weekend and realized that after four years, we had never played a match together. Sixth Form spring really does bring people together….
In our last Letter from the Editors, we wanted to thank you for obliging us over the year. Despite the few of you who consistently avoid the handout outside Chapel, we have really enjoyed getting the chance to be a small voice and share some insight into the SPS community.
Whether you actually do read the paper or our letters each time, The Pelican has become less of an extracurricular activity and more of a full-time job over the course of this year (though, at this point, we have pretty much passed it down to the next in line). The word ‘Pelifam’ is used unironically now, and we think that’s pretty appropriate for the group of writers, artists, and creatives that we all love.
If there is anything you can truly learn from this paper, it’s that comeback stories are possible. The Pelican has been the child we’ve nurtured over the past four years, and let’s just say that child has gone through a lot of character development. When we showed up at St. Paul’s in the fall of 2020, The Pelican was essentially obsolete, publishing a whopping one time a year. We figured out how to do layout using YouTube tutorials and edited with the help of our hum teachers, and we have broken records this year by publishing fifteen times. So yes, you can get that grade up, make the team, or create that club on campus. But it takes a little more than perseverance, it takes passion and love for the things you do. Yes, The Pelican has been challenging and stressful at points, but deep down, our love for the paper and The Pelican community kept us going. So take your time here at St. Paul’s to figure out what you like and don’t like (we found many of these at The Pelican). Ultimately, the activities that you find you love will teach you grit. It’s storied traditions like The Pelican that make SPS the special place it is; we want to come back to SPS and see those same traditions flourishing with a new student body.
We hope this legacy can live on and that The Pelican can continue to grow and be part of our campus and community. At the end of the day, it is only a student newspaper, and perhaps we are being a bit too emotional and reflective, but we wanted to thank you for giving us the platform to share our trains of thought in this dedicated letter. We wish you all the best and are extremely grateful to have had this experience with you.
Goodbye,
The Editors