“Find your tribe,” Sophomore Quinn Magrane said as she spoke in front of the Sophomore class. Belonging, a topic that in reality, we don’t fully understand. The Sophomore class reflected on what they thought they belonged to, and what belonging genuinely means at their sophomore day of reflection. 

“When I first walked into the retreat, I expected it to be a cheesy retreat about loving each other and being a good friend to everyone, kind of like the freshmen retreat we had last year.” Sophomore Jonna Tucker said, “I enjoyed most of it. I don’t really like sharing my feelings with people so that part wasn’t my favorite, but it was nice to just have a day to relax from the insane stress of school, and just life in general.” Tucker finished. 

The Sophomore Day of Reflection was based on the topic of belonging. Whether it meant belonging to someone or something, or a specific community in your everyday life. Sophomore year is the year where you start to realize the reality of high school. Which friends you can trust, whether or not you have toxic relationships in your life that you have to decide whether or not to drop them, and figuring out how to balance that out with activities and school. A few Juan Diego seniors joined the sophomores on their day of reflection to share their feedback and experiences. 

“I believe I connected with the sophomores in just getting to know a few of them better through conversations about what we had in common and life as a sophomore.” Senior Chloe Redican said, “It definitely took me back to my sophomore year because I remembered how it felt to be nervous and unsure about what high school was about.” Redican said. Halfway into the retreat, the girls and boys separated into different rooms and had a chance to share their experiences and struggles with belonging. 

“One thing that was most memorable from the retreat was in the chapel when one of the girls said something that stood out to me.” Senior Marissa Butkovich said, “She stood up and said that she is constantly told to be herself but she didn’t even know to. I went through the same things as the girls in the chapel did, and I saw myself in a lot of them.” Butkovich finished. As the girls walked in to the chapel, they all had their different stories and experiences, but walking out they realized that they could share the same story. 

“Something that I took from the retreat was the fact that hiding your feelings isn’t going to benefit me, and to be myself.” Sophomore Teddy Ahlers said, “I expected that we would talk about our personal problems and feelings the whole entire time, but I didn’t think we would go in depth like we did. I enjoyed the fact that I was able to learn more about my classmates and be able to connect with them on a more personal level.” Ahlers said. 

The Sophomore Day of Reflection was a unique experience for Juan Diego’s class of 2022. Although they expected to leave with disappointment, they all left feeling closer to one another on a personal level.