When I think of my ideal self, I don’t have any weaknesses. I think that goes to say for everyone else, too. When I think of being weak, I think of being insecure. I think of being the kind of person that gets pushed around and walked all over. But most of all, I can’t help but imagine what my potential could be if I didn’t have the weaknesses that I have, and that tends to be the worst part about them. The thought that there are people out there that are simply better, brighter and stronger than you is discouraging. For most students, these weaknesses emerge throughout their high school career, causing them to become unmotivated and unwilling to try.

Although our staff has produced some amazing work together, we still tend to hit rough patches every now and then. Our biggest weakness? Deadlines, for sure. Since our staff has practically doubled in size since last year, it’s hard to keep all the Tom Tommers on board with what they need to have done and when they need to do it. Sometimes, we get distracted. When your whole staff ends up becoming one big family, we can’t help but want to talk to each other and not get anything done. Due to our bad habits, we end up hitting print a lot later than expected (for example, this very magazine). Our staff has had many ups and downs, and highs and lows, but somehow we manage to push past the weeks of missed deadlines and piercing stares and slow blinks from Mr. Johnson, ultimately producing something that we can all be proud of.

Sometimes our weaknesses can blind us from seeing the big picture. When you experience loss, disappointment, and the feeling of not being good enough, you grow. You learn how to deal with the hard parts of life that constantly decide that they want to make an appearance at the worst possible times. But just because you go through hard times doesn’t mean that you’re weak. In fact, getting through those rough patches only makes you stronger. When you look back on those memories that you wish you could just forget, you’ll realize that they were meant to teach you a lesson worth learning.

In our “A” magazine, you’ll find stories about fellow Sequoits that strongly reflect the cliche of the “Achilles Heel.” Similarly to past issues, our feature stories have headlines that start with the letter “A.” Department editor Branden Gallimore writes about the struggles of athletes who are held to certain expectations just because of the way they look in “A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet,” while senior William Becker emphasizes the risks of playing injured athletes in “An Arm and a Leg.” In our department pieces, social media director Dylan Hebior writes about the athletes who decide to play sports on their own terms in “Backyard Athletes,” while department editor Abigail Russell talks about differing opinions in the purpose of sports in “Playing to Win V. Playing for Fun.” Sophomore Symone Henderson writes about the hardships of having a parent who was formerly a successful athlete in “Monkey See, Monkey Do,” while department editor Logan Weber and senior Matthew Rowe give updates on the Varsity softball and baseball seasons. On the last page of our magazine, senior Annie Wagner tells the story of coaches struggles in “What it Feels Like to Act the Part.”

Thank you for taking the time to read our magazine. Through each hardship that life throws at our staff, we will always emerge and produce something that the community can admire and learn from. We hope that you can take the time to realize that each member of our staff has a weakness, but our magazine is definitely not one of them.