A senior and freshman walk together across the quad, the freshman chatting animatedly while the senior listens with rapt attention. As they approach the math wing, they part ways. “We’d better hang out tomorrow!” the senior threatens. The smile on the freshman’s face reflects the feelings of many freshmen around campus. They are happy. More notable than ever before, the underclassmen this year have assimilated into the Mills high atmosphere with ease, a concept Mrs. Lighty, health teacher and Peer Helping coordinator, notes with pride. For twenty years, Ms. Lighty has spread her philosophy of student unity and warm fuzzies to the students of Mills, starting the year off with Kids’ Day, a underclassman- upperclassman day full of fun, friends, and food in the Chetcuti room on October 27th.

Away from the dog-eat-dog school environment, freshmen, seniors, and teachers were able to interact comfortably and share a few things about themselves through interactive games (“Stand next to someone who has the same favorite color as you!”), sharing advice with the freshmen (“Don’t ever forget your locker combo. Seriously.”), and casual conversation (“Hi, what’s your name?”). Kids’ Day is an important day for freshmen, as seniors, in a way, pass down their wisdom, regrets, and passions for the freshmen to learn from regarding their venture into high school.

For the seniors who attended as freshmen (I myself am one of them), we still remember that warm August day in 2008 when we attended Kids’ Day, nervous for what turned out to be a great and beneficial time that even to this day, we’ve never forgotten. Being a part of the cycle of students that pass through Mills is a bittersweet realization, as that cycle continues without us next year. Yet we took a day out of the school year to celebrate being, well, a kid, and that is something we should never neglect: that we are all kids, no matter how old or young we may be.