Graphic by Evelyn Stanley ’24 /The Choate News
BE UNDEFINABLE. As the school’s newest motto, these two words encapsulate Choate’s quintessential goal for its students — a goal that inspires and emphatically encourages both individuality and success. To “be undefinable,” you must take risks, try new things, and challenge your limits until you are the very best, but at what point do these words turn from an inspirational slogan to an unattainable standard of academic and extracurricular participation? I believe there are many tracks one can take to become undefinable depending on their unique definition of this goal. Some of these paths are euphoric and exciting, while others have the potential to be dangerous.
The adjective “undefinable” is associated with qualities like perfection, excellence, and being better than the best. Many interpret this motto as a requirement; in other words, this advice convinces students to overwork themselves and exceed the natural boundaries built to protect their mental health and wellbeing. In the eyes of far too many, the school motto implies that you should take six classes, play two sports, and join five clubs while being president of two more. For too many, the message received is, “Sleep three hours tonight, so that you can ace that test! That way, you’ll be excellent!”
Telling a student, who might already be struggling just to complete their classwork, to “Be Undefinable!” is like telling someone who is unhappy to “Be Positive!” It is a statement that is short, sweet, and simple; hence, it often misleads into thinking it’s easily achievable. The video that you see when you first open the Choate website showcases students who, in the eyes of the school, have achieved this definition of “undefinability.” They’re seen smiling and high-fiving their teammates after a hard practice while the voiceover raves about how Choate students will save the world. It’s a picture-perfect image of what we should be, but it doesn’t show the behind the scenes.
It doesn’t show those same students staying up until 3 a.m. to finish their work because they had too many commitments during the day; it doesn’t show them running across campus, trying to be on time for everything they have to do; and it doesn’t show the stress, pressure, and burnout that comes with trying to reach such a high expectation. The straightforward facade of this advice can lead to students feeling like a failure when they can’t navigate a million different activities. While it’s important to encourage students to embrace all parts of who they are, they shouldn’t be made to feel like “less than” someone else just because they also need time to relax or — God forbid — take a nap.
In other ways, the “Be Undefinable” motto has contributed to some of my worst days and nights. There are times when I want nothing more than to go to sleep, but I force myself to keep studying until I know everything about Newton’s Laws to ace my test. I’ve seen the pressure to “work until you drop” cause so many of my friends to suffer, and, even worse, I’ve seen the people who are supposed to be our role models continuously perpetuate this toxic culture. This idea that we are obligated to do it all and exceed expectations has, on more than one occasion, imprisoned my peers in a state of suffering — fearing that they will fail, afraid they are not enough.
Ultimately, the vague nature of this motto means its message is subjective. One’s home life, personal beliefs, and so forth, determine how they interpret the command to “Be Undefinable.” It can encourage a path of exploration and freedom or a path of joylessness, stress, and feeling inadequate. Instead of being “undefinable,” I think we should strive to simply be proud of the people we are without feeling like we constantly need to pile more obligations onto our already fragile plates. I alone am not creative enough to come up with something catchy and new, but I do know there is a more suitable motto out there. If the student and faculty body work together, perhaps we will find it.
