![Alexander Oki ‘28 picks up trash in the lower parking lot Feb. 20. According to Keep America Beautiful, the majority of the trash found on both roads and waterways consists of fast food wrappers and packaging, receipts and plastic beverage bottles. Clubs like the National Honor Society (NHS) offer students the opportunity to earn service hours by cleaning up the trash in the parking lots. “[The trash] makes us look very unhygienic and unmotivated to be a proper school,” Emberlyse Vidal ‘28 said. “It makes us look like we just don't care about our students' environments.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/20260220_1355020-2-1200x904.jpg)
My thoughts flow freely when holding a pen or typing, and I’ve taken to leaving a mark in everything from an empty notepad to the margins of books.
“Note to Self” started long before I had a way to share it. Like many people I know, the Notes app takes up most of my phone’s storage. It’s my virtual diary, my life documented in shopping lists, shower thoughts, reminders and (somewhat questionable) poetry.
It’s taken me a long time to accept parts of myself I keep tucked in the comfort of a blank document. I hope this column will share those notes in hopes that the random tidbits, late-night conversations and yapping sessions can help others feel validated in their own experiences.
Each week, I’ll cover a new topic—something stuck in my mind, no matter how ordinary the subject. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged, and I hope you enjoy the notes I write to myself.
