What are you grateful for?
“Everyone can make me smile, so I’ve been living a very happy life.” -Jake Rodriguez ‘24
“The little things. I saw a butterfly on the way to school and the sun was shining today.” -Gabe France ‘24
“My garden, Jonathan, the Presidio and the Pacific, the sky studded with clouds, friends cooking delicious food, the crew at Central CA Women’s Prison and San Quentin.” -English Teacher Courtney Rein
“The feeling when you get to freshly pull up your socks and they hug your calves in the perfect way so your circulation feels bomb, for large tea cups that hold lots of tea and for the United States Postal Service.” -Clementine Nelson ‘24
“The New York Times Spelling Bee … and cookies.” -Skylan Tong ‘27
“I love these tacos right now. Taco Tuesday.” -Alex Yang ‘24
“Urban students who care about the world they live in.” -Dean of Student Life Charlotte Worsley
“Having a giggle session with the homies.” -Dashiell Thompson ‘26
“My classes this term, my dog, watching volleyball games and that I started listening to Funkadelic this fall.” -Science Teacher Geoff Ruth
“My mom, my dog, my dad and my siblings.” -Tyler Nonaka ‘24
“Family, Urban and my 49ers.” -Chef David Labao
“All of the joy [the performing arts at Urban] give the community.” -UrbanX Labs Teacher Bethany Hellerich
“Everything that’s brought me to where I am … my parents, the rest of my family, my friends, school, the city … just everything.” -Colby Daniels ‘24
“My family and some of my closest friends, as they’re iconic and are the only reason I continue to function as I do.” -Lindsey Bailey ‘24
“Saying hi to Oliver … Oliver … Oliver.” -Gabriel Ramirez ‘27
What’s something kind that someone has done for you lately?
“My friends and family have been constantly checking up on me since I’ve started at Urban just to make sure I’m having an okay time. It’s really sweet and it genuinely makes my day better.” -Vanessa Monto ‘27
“This morning, instead of me going down to make my coffee, I was getting ready and my mom brought coffee up to me.” -Vivienne O’Dell ‘24
“Chef David appreciated my English assignment that had a drawing of him so much that he asked me if he could take it home and frame it. Of course I let him — I love Chef David!” -Sami Lee ‘25
“A lot of people … recognize that I’m carrying a lot and ask if they can take anything off my shoulders.” -Dean of Equity & Inclusion Jason Ernest Feldman
“Someone who I thought didn’t know me said hi to me. It was small, but I was having a really bad day and it just made it so much better.” -Kate Dollard ‘26
“My husband made me dinner last night.” – Assistant Head for Student Life Charlotte Worsley
“[Someone] engaged with me and asked me questions.” -Rohan Notaney ‘27
“My friend gave me a lot of chocolate-covered raisins from her aunt, who got them at Costco. Thanks, Daphne!” -Charlotte Fassnacht ‘26
“My dad made me a grilled cheese and tomato soup.” -Frankie McNeil ‘26
Happy stories from the Blues
“[I got] a massive 1:30 personal record in a cross-country race.” -Elliott Maggiotto ‘26
“[I watched] my partner complete an Ironman triathlon! Amazing.” -Science Teacher Geoff Ruth
“I got on the bus and this grandma with her grandkid got on [too]. There was a seat open so she put the grandkid on the seat and then this high schooler was sitting next to the child and was like, ‘Hi. Want my seat?’ and she was like, ‘Oh, no, that’s OK.’ He took out his AirPods and was like, ‘No no, take the seat,’ and got up, and she was like, ‘Thank you,’ and sat down. It was so kind and made me happy on my way to school. It made my whole day better.” -Laurel Socolow ‘25
“I walked to Smart & Final with my friends at 8:00 at night, bought a ton of ice cream and snacks [and] then ate them all together at my friend’s house while watching ‘Howl’s Moving Castle.’ The sky was so pretty, and just walking around, enjoying the scenery, eating those strawberry shortcake ice creams, watching my friends literally crumble to the ground at Howl’s voice was just really, really nice and absolutely hilarious.” -Vanessa Monto ‘27
“I was grading a math test and someone actually showed their work in a logical, complete fashion.” -Math Teacher Randy Li
“Many Urban students, adults and families showed up to welcome and host students from Ruleville, Mississippi.” -English Teacher Courtney Rein
