Marlborough is known for what has been dubbed as ‘sister dynasties.’ is term refers to a set of three or more sisters who have attended the school over the years. For example, Ela ’24, Ria ’26 and Lara ’29.

Attending school with your sisters has many perks, such as lunch from Larchmont while you’re in middle school, having cool older kids knowing who you are or receiving guidance on what classes to take.

I also have a sister named Maddie, though this may be a surprising fact for some. She is two years older than me, and we went to school together for eight years before I moved to Marlborough. Upon reflection, I’m glad I chose not to continue going to school with her. Our paths look very different, and I feel like I would’ve conformed to her journey if we had continued to go to school together. Also, I couldn’t rely on her for help when struggling socially or in a class, as I did in elementary school. Instead, I learned to stay true to myself and create meaningful connections, finding sisters throughout the school.

Since this article concludes my writing for The UltraViolet (I know, I’m crying), I wanted to highlight how Marlborough fosters sisterhood, even when there’s no blood relation.

When I first began here in 8th grade, I only knew one 10th grader. She was a friend of Maddie’s, and she looked out for me in the halls, giving me my first look into Marlborough sisterhood.

In 10th grade, I was struggling to find my place, but my Varsity lacrosse teammates helped me feel like I belonged. Each year, upperclassmen pick underclassmen to look out for as their spirit sister; my spirit sister that year was a senior, and we quickly became best friends. She always made sure I had someone to sit with, and I would often hang out with her and her friends, two of whom were also on the lacrosse team. These older “sisters” gave me advice about how to navigate school both academically and socially. I could not be more grateful for how they helped me through that year.

I got to repay the favor on our lacrosse team this year. I’ve driven multiple girls to weekend or morning practices and team bonding. I joke that I feel as though they are my “children” when I pick them up, but they really are the best little sisters I could ask for. We share stories and I give them advice when we get matcha or lunch. If you’re reading this, I adore you and can’t wait to watch you shine throughout your last two years at Marlborough.

Finally, my sisters on the UV. When I was in 10th grade, I met my first sister at Marlborough; she was a senior on the UV who made me feel like the newspaper was a place I could really thrive. e following year, the seniors became some of my favorite people, and we grew very close. Sharing stories and advice at 7:30 p.m. on production nights was extremely bonding and I miss them dearly. When we changed leadership for the last issue of the year, they sent us videos with Adobe InDesign tips from Hawaii.

I have younger UV sisters this year, and I can’t wait to see what they do with the paper. I’m so proud of all their work and the close friendships we’ve made working together.

The small grade sizes at Marlborough make it the perfect school to foster sisterhood. I urge you to lean into friendships, because they make school so much better and truly last a lifetime. Tell someone you love them and hold those you cherish close to your heart. Goodbye, Marlborough.