The following is an alphabetical list of 52 seniors’ favorite quote from their Chapels, collected via an optional survey sent to the class of 2024 from the Centipede.
“Get to know and love yourself so you can know and love others better.”
—Mandy Adams
“7.4 miles that way is Littleton. Drive straight through the Concord Rotary everyone despises, and continue straight for 7.4 miles. No it is not 20 miles away, nor is it a regional school with Acton, Westford, or Ayer. It in fact takes me 15 minutes to drive there with no traffic, to unpopular belief!”
—Elyse Barry
“There are three things in life that you'll never get back: time, words, and opportunity. Don't waste time, choose words, and don't miss an opportunity.”
—Anghelo Chavira-Barrera
“The best feeling in the world is feeling like you belong, but the only thing you can truly belong to is yourself. Knowing who you are and what you love is the most important thing you can do to belong to yourself.”
—Marisa Beard
“It will be a good time, or it will be a good story.”
—Brennan Biemann
“While I learned more about myself, I still don’t know who I am or what I’ll become. And that’s okay. Who you are now is different than who you will be in five years or five months or even five days. It’s the unknowing that should excite you.”
—Hannah Bodnar
“The very best thing you can do for yourself is find those people that care and love you. And believe me I know this is far easier said than done, but if you feel like the people you are surrounding yourself with aren’t these people then you deserve better.”
—Phoebe Burke
“I’ve come to realize that “your thing” can be enjoying all that life has to offer, even if that means hanging out with your friends on a night you should probably be studying, or going down a youtube rabbit hole at 2AM.”
—Ben Collier
“I do a lot of things I don’t know how to do.”
—Thomas Crowley
“Speak up, even if it scares you. If you look closely, you’ll find encouragement everywhere– it’s in the fearless haunted house-goers, the unabashed leaves.”
—Ava Driggers
“By the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church, I now pronounce all of you lawfully wedded to each other til death do you apart.”
—Kai Feingold
“If a man calls you his ex’s name when saying goodbye, you deserve better.”
—Rebecca FitzGerald
“If there’s one thing you can be sure of, it’s that you can’t be fully sure of anything at all.”
—Connor Gandel
“Surround yourself with people who uplift and support you, rather than those who judge or criticize. Seek out communities that encourage growth, celebrate diversity, and value authenticity. Time is precious, so treasure every minute by living your dreams and being the person that you truly want to be.”
—Ketan Gardner
“Don’t reduce yourself to embarrassment. Instead of seeking constant validation, find a way to validate yourself.”
—Georgia Gates
“My favorite memory of Kim (Kopelman) is when, in sophomore year, she asked me, “Who are you dating here at CA?” and when I said, “No one,” she responded, “Oh, so you are more of a hook-up person. That will change as you get older.””
—Nate Gelb
“I think that there is an epic element of randomness in each of our lives, one that we often hate and resist, but it's one thing that makes us all the same.”
—Simon Glassenberg
“Win or lose, if you try your hardest, people will recognize that and respect you for it.”
—Theo von Gottberg
“There is something so raw and so beautiful in believing in yourself and trying to prove to others why you are worth being believed in.”
—Sophia Hernandez
“Pick up a book and read it all the way through, I promise you'll be different on the other side.”
—Ridley Hoyte
“Be an eagle for an Hour, than a crow for centuries”
—Ishaan Jain
“We came into this world to see how the flowers bloom and how the rivers flow, how the sun rises and sets, experience interesting things, and meet unforgettable people. Freedom is being you without anyone’s permission. I hope you all are free, loved, and thriving.”
—Irene Jiang
“Despite the violence and absurdity of our realities, we can still choose how we show up in the world. Ask questions. Stay behind after class to check-in with a teacher. Start conversations. Hold the door open for a stranger; don’t hesitate to jump into that muddy puddle. Love fiercely. Nap once in a while—scratch that. Nap often. Enjamb a line where you’d least expect it and let the poem guide you.”
—Smile Jiang
“Be bound to your authenticity—whatever that is to you—not characteristics, which is something variable and crafted both consciously and unconsciously to be presented outward.”
—Nana Jiraphanphong
“The first step to success is self-love. If you go into the gym with the mindset that you wish to change your body for social acceptance, you will never achieve contentment in your physique. You have to go to the gym for you, not for anybody else and not to look a certain way. You can do it. I know it feels impossible to look in the mirror and feel comfortable in your body, but you can break the cycle. If you choose confidence in yourself as is, you will ultimately exceed your expectations.”
—Marly Jane Kasdon
“Mom, Dad, thank you for giving me the childhood I had. You coupled my global upbringing with an equally deep sense of care and responsibility towards our world. I have big dreams, and I try to have an even bigger heart because of you.”
—William Shihyung Kim
“It's hard to maintain that [childlike] awe, because you’ll be late to school if you stop to stare at every ant at your feet, or cloud above your head. But maybe every once in a while, get lost in the world around you, create some mischief, show up late to class, blow dry your wet pants in a public bathroom in the town of Concord.”
—Emerson Koch
“But also, I don’t really know if sense has been MADE. And you don’t really know, either, probably? And neither does this chapel, evidently. But isn’t that the fun of it all?”
—Kelly Kong
“I can’t wait to go back in 10, 20 years and be able to put myself right back into the memories I have right now, because they are precious.”
—Sophie Laurence
“There's a quote that I saw on Tiktok during one of my procrastination that sums it up perfectly: "Procrastination allows you to do 8 hours worth of work in 30 minutes, whereas doing your work on time makes you take 8 hours to do 30 minutes of work." And here’s another quote from Instagram. “You are simply waiting until the last minute so that you’ll be older and therefore, wiser.” I mean, tell me if I’m wrong, but who wouldn’t want to take part in performing this form of art when they see this quote?”
—James Lee
“I think there’s something to be said for being able to return to something that has remained unchanged. The reason that I love Tamarack is the reason that I read Wonder 18 times in elementary school and that I regularly flip through the photo albums on my bookshelf: looking back is as refreshing as looking forward.”
—Lynn Lewis
“Art is bestowed in everything across our lives. Watching the gradual changes of age in our bedroom decoration, and people held atop others shoulders in a festival crowd. The artist, Lucki, in one of his songs, wrote the title “LIFE MOCKS ART”. Those words can be spun either way.”
—Jude Luchesse
“Room for adjustment and growth is intrinsic to process of making, and isn’t that a comforting thought? That your body will fluctuate and you will grow or change, but whether it’s a pair of pants or you as a person, there will never be a final form or being perfectly adequate: instead, there is reserved capacity to be more or be different.”
—Jessie Ma
“When I am traveling to a new place, I can always measure the ground with the steps of my own feet, and enjoy the ceaseless symphony of the things we strive for.”
—Jason Mao
“Everyone's life is equally boring because we're all equally interesting.”
—Zhaoyi Meng
“Thank you all for making my CA career incredible at its best, bearable at its worst. Without y’all it would’ve been bearable at best.”
—Zach Miller
"Take pride in your actions, embrace who you are, resist the urge to conform only for the purpose of blending in, and most importantly have fun because you only live once. A feeling of regret, going hand in hand with the passing of time, is something that can never be undone. The magic of our younger selves dissolves as we get older, not on purpose, but we’re simply forced to grow up too fast. If anything is ever holding you back, my advice is to embrace your inner child and channel that into your daily life."
—Laila Hussain Mooraj
“What is this chapel about? My dad said that you always have to write with a purpose, and that you always have to write a speech with a clear message to deliver to the audience. But I don’t think that's necessarily true.”
—Ben Osborne
“The most challenging things lead to the most self-discovery and an incredible amount of growth. Try to find gratitude in struggling and believe in yourself unconditionally.”
—Maddy Plotnick
“You don’t need to have it all figured out, now or at any point in your life, because you’ll never get there. Don’t spend your life measuring yourself up to other people, especially if you’re 5’4”. You’ll only disappoint yourself, and you’re not going to get anywhere closer to the truth of who you are and what makes you happy...Take yourself where you’re at, and go from there. No matter what, hold your head high, and be proud of who you are.”
—Aidan Quealy
“I’m not saying that all teachers live with their veils lifted at all times, but there’s so much to be said for being able to reach out to others and lift their veils for them. To all of my teachers, to Laurence and Topi especially, thank you.”
—Graylyn Rhee
“Don’t dwell in the dark moments and make sure to savor the bright stops as they come.”
—Armaney Salcedo
“Put down the multicolor rainbow pencil, and don’t be afraid of trying new things. Perhaps you’ll have some happy accidents of your own.”
—Natalie Samulka
“Senior advice: Don’t take yourself too seriously.”
—August Sengupta
“I don’t really know how to transition…well actually I do, but I don’t know how to transition between sections, so anyway as a nice little break up, here’s the song “Wet Vagina” by Doja Cat.”
—Willow Simon
“A million things have changed since the beginning, but it’s still true that we all have to be born to exist, and that sunsets will color the sky beautiful colors, and that kids will run around no matter where they are.”
—Nishat Taznim
“In a world that is terrifying and enormous, I want to care, and to be rewarded for caring. I want my stories to give me hope, and courage, but I want them to be able to say the wrong things too. Let the protagonists be villains. Let them be incorrect and irredeemable. Let them die. It’s a story, after all.”
—Eva Tutin
“I have a confession to make.”
—Mary Wan
“Food becomes poop.”
—Chiara Wanandi
“Mimi, thank you for being my first driving teacher. I don't know many people who could say that they drove for the first time with their grandma. Happy early birthday. I love you to the moon and back.”
—Savannah Warrington
“The world we live in isn't perfect, but if you know where to look you’ll find that it is thoroughly enchanting.”
—Elspeth Yeh
“I find comfort in the idea of themes. Perhaps it is the certainty in it, how it captures a grander idea and transforms it into a simple word or phrase.”
—Morris Zhang