To Classes II, III, and IV,
Your time at Milton, much like the rest of your life, consists of exactly two things: experiences that are new, and those that are not. In my all-tooshort time here, I’ve sought to spend as much of my time as possible in the first category. I encourage you to do the same; personal growth is derived entirely from novelty, from conversations with new people, from learning something new. The new moments are the moments I remember.
What is most unique about Milton is the incredible breadth of that novelty you can experience within each day. My favorite days of the past few years have been the Milton Marathons, the days on which I had a NEML, a Measure meeting, a physics contest, a French test, a Clue performance during which I missed Speech & Debate practice and rehearsal for my rock band, after which, still in costume, I called Jenny to review the Measure’s layout.
At a lot of times, I’ve been so overwhelmed with my massive agendas for each day that I’ve missed out on the opportunity to appreciate the new experiences I had along the way. Don’t make that mistake. Take each day as an opportunity for newness that will enrich you for life.
To the graduates,
Thank you all for being so unique. That uniqueness has made every conversation and every acquaintance remarkably novel. I know you’ll all go on to do great things. It’s been a wild and wonderful time.
A Reflection and Three Objectives:
When I think back on my time at Milton, I categorize my most meaningful experiences into the pursuit of three goals. I set myself, and all of you reading this, these three objectives:
Fail. I was rejected at both of my auditions for the Miltones, and I was able to join the group only after a previous member left. In my junior year, I missed the start of Cross Country ISLs, the biggest race of the year, and had to sprint to the start line only to start way behind. That was one of my worst races of the season. I tried to succeed, but also I made sure to fit in a little bit of failure. I ran so many races that one of them was bound to go terribly. And, by the way, at this year’s ISLs, I was early to the race start and ran my best 5K ever.
Wonder. Wonder. What I consider to be my greatest moments, in and out of the classroom, came not from knowing but from wondering. Grasping at hidden meaning in English classes, struggling to clarify a TMM editorial, or searching in vain for the solution to a math problem. Those are the moments where my horizons have been expanded. Our curiosity, rather than our pre-existing knowledge, is what will lead us to do great things in the future.
Cherish. Though your pursuit of novelty should be persistent, each individual new experience is inherently ephemeral. Don’t let life, especially the first-time moments, pass you by without a sense of appreciation. That sense is where I’ve found fulfillment.
I’m endlessly grateful to my family for supporting me when I failed, to the faculty for giving me things to wonder about, and to my classmates for giving me moments to cherish. I’m also grateful to everyone who worked on The Measure this year, especially Jenny and Dr. N., for making my most difficult new experiences my most fulfilling.
To all who made my Milton experience possible, thank you.
Eli Berk ’26, CXXXI Editor-in-Chief
As my parents will surely confirm, I was never a patient person. If there is one skill I have developed at Milton, it would have to be endurance. These four years have taught me how to ride and subvert pangs of pain through a 5k race, how to shave disappointing first drafts into tolerable (and maybe even satisfactory) shape, how to find light in Boston’s darkest winter days—how to grit my teeth and simply… wait.
Working on The Measure has demanded arguably the most patience of all. Serving as a writer in my freshman and sophomore years, I often spent an entire day on a single article, writing then rephrasing the same sentences. Leading this wonderful publication this year, I have worked through five-hour long layout meetings and boosted editorial board morale during the school year’s busiest weeks. Yet, having stepped back now as an alumna of The Measure, I can clearly see how much fulfillment this publication has brought me.
I’ve come to realize that patience requires both hope and conviction: hope that something can be better and the conviction to work toward that “better.” I would like to believe that the Class of 2026 has bettered Milton, and that I have bettered The Measure, select clubs, the boarding community, and myself.
As I write this, we seniors are accelerating through our last week at Milton. Or, perhaps more accurately, our week is accelerating by us. These days bring a torrent of feelings: I am reflective, forgiving, and grieving; I am regretful, grateful, and more patient than ever. Indeed, I have never wanted to prolong time as I do now.
To those of you with more time at Milton, stay patient. Embrace your own development and strive to better your surroundings (you can change more about Milton than you think). Don’t wish for time to pass too quickly, because it likely will. :)
Signing off,
Jennifer Li ’26, CXXXI Editor-in-Chief