There’s a quiet grief that follows us out the door when leaving one place hurts and leaving another hurts too. That sadness isn’t something to apologize for — it’s proof of deep belonging.

The viral Adidas Tang jacket started a trend of incorporating traditional Chinese design features in modern fashion. However, it comes with a new wave of debate as to why Chinese culture is not being credited properly when selling Chinese-inspired clothing, creating complicated questions in balancing fleeting trends and true appreciation of culture.

Somewhere between lectures, homework, quizzes and deadlines, it seems that actually engaging with the people sitting next to us becomes optional — or something we actively avoid. By the end of the semester, we leave with a hopefully passing grade and a handful of half-remembered faces, but few real connections, if any at all.

Bella Howell, Class of 2025 graduate from Southlake, was honored as Clinical Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas for her student-teaching position during her senior year.