Hill School Chapel Talks

Looking Through a Lens in Black and White: Growing up and learning in two different environments can be hard. Self-identity is one of the hardest things in life to discover. Wondering if you fit in or belong, is a thought prevalent in many minds. It may seem as though you live in two different worlds until you make them become one. Struggling with self-identity is not an uncommon occurrence, but dealing with it and using it to help you grow is what makes it important.

Finding a Voice that Belongs to You: Your voice can be used to bring happiness to the people around you. However, if you are not careful, it might turn into a weapon that hurts the people that love you. I reflect on times in my life when I have used my voice as both positive and negative forces and the lessons I’ve learned from it. How will you use your voice?

The Double-Story “g”: A story of lowercase letters, typesetting, and my meticulous future plans.

How I Met My Brother: Listening can be one of the most difficult concepts for the world to grasp. Throughout my talk, I share my own personal experience rebuilding my relationship with my older brother through the idea of listening and the power it holds.

Upside Down Living: A recent housing trend in the UK called “upside down living” proposes a different layout of one’s home in order to maximize the benefits it offers, ultimately making life happier and more balanced. If we were to apply this in a spiritual sense to how we live, what would change? How could rearranging our focus on the inside lead to a fuller, more genuine way of being? 

Passengers on the Bullet Train: In the bullet train we call life, the people we meet are all passengers who come and go. In this electronic age, confirmation biases limit us from taking in different perspectives and listening to the other side of the story. In life, this journey without a destination, what are the relationships that shaped your value? In this divided 21^st century, how can we build more bridges for one another and turn hate into love?

Grow Through What You Go Through: Mistakes, setbacks, and scars seem like things that should destroy us, and we should avoid them. In truth, these are what fuel us to be better and lead us to find success and ultimately where we are supposed to be. 

Privilege: Your past and your circumstantial privilege and upbringing, along with present hardships do not define what you do with your future. Make yourself a student of the game, or someone who is always looking for little ways to improve, because in doing so, you are able to better yourself and those around you. Strive for success in your dreams and goals no matter the condition, as you never know where life will take you through your failures and achievements.

Change is not easy, but necessary. A reflection on homesickness and how to overcome it. Finding the good in situations can change your entire perspective. 

The importance of Veterans Day and embracing change. Veterans Day holds a special place in my heart. As a military kid, I have been presented with continuous change throughout my life. Instead of looking at the negative, it can be beneficial to look at the positive and grow fromit. 

Being Black and Blue

How the relationships and family community of Hill was very impactful and came to light after hearing the tragic news of my grandfather.

It’s Only a Game; Some Life Lessons, Some Good, Some Bad, Drawn from my Life in Athletics: In this year that marks 50 years of Title IX, 50 years of Yale field hockey, and 100 years of U.S.A. field hockey, as well as the 50th anniversary of my own high school graduation and my 24^th year at Hill and thus my 24^th year involved in Hill Athletics, I want to reflect on some of what I learned from my experiences, and try to put the role of athletics in American life, American education, and American culture in some perspective.

Throughout our life, we fail to pay attention to many details that encompass who we are as people. When we take a moment to shed light on these, we get a glimpse on how important being present in every moment is.
 

Was the Dress Really Worth It? Breaking down the stigma that fat is unhealthy, one talk at a time. 

How many legs does a spider have? A story of self-improvement and how I overcame my fear of speaking up.

Being around things and people you love can make all the difference. This is a story of a time I was doing something I love, and it helped me out of a dark place.

The Importance of Identity and Legacy: An introspective look at the importance of identity and legacy told through the lense of contemporary music.

Don’t Do Nothing. When a baby cries, the parent should immediately seek to comfort the baby. But at a certain point, it is important to let the baby cry it out. What is that point?