"It's a Good Day to Be an Adult and an Eagle."
(Note: Note: In this installment, it’s “me” who left the nest last June. The classes of 2024 and 2025 will be my final groups of students I had the privilege to teach, and with young women like Olivia Anderson and Ellie Braaten, it was hard to step away from the classroom. Turns out these current Eagles are already making the “real” world of adults a bit better place.
When asked if anything eventful had happened in her life over the last year, senior Ellie Braaten responded with “not really.” Seniors. Despite helping the tennis team to one of its best seasons ever, participating in the MSHSL art program, and publishing a book, Braaten seems to be focused on the next stage of her life: attending University of Minnesota Duluth for Geology and Political Science followed by enlisting in the United States Air Force. Wait! Did she say “published a book”? That’s where junior Olivia Anderson enters the picture.
(Class of 2025 Olivia Anderson)
While Anderson also downplayed her school year (also with a mention of tennis), she started making plans for a unique project for her National Honor Society Individual Service Project. “Ms. Gartner suggested picking a topic that you knew a lot about or was passionate about,” Anderson explained. Her passion? Celiac disease, which Anderson has been dealing with since elementary. Looking back on the confusion of being diagnosed with it as an elementary student, Anderson saw the book project as a way to meet the parameters of her NHS project’s goal “to make a difference in your community.” After taking time to brainstorm how she could utilize her knowledge on the topic, Anderson realized children getting packets from doctors did not help them understand the life-altering diagnosis. “I thought I was going to die as an eight-year-old,” Anderson admitted, “and I didn’t know how to ask questions about a disease.” Anderson’s book gives parents an insight into a child’s mindset while also serving as a relatable resource for children diagnosed with the disease.
Celiac disease is an illness caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten, which is found in many foods that include wheat and grains. With limited dietary choice, Anderson’s book helps to not only explain the condition but to also give suggestions on the “good foods” families can select. “So I was super quiet and introverted when I was a child, so once I got this, it taught me how to use my voice. I’m the one who has to speak up. It’s really developed my extroverted side because I’m not an extrovert. It’s helped me realize that my voice matters.”
Anderson’s project began by simply making a Google Doc to list out all the ideas she wanted to put in the book. She included her story, resources for children, and tips on good and bad food. “Once I had gotten the story that I wanted, I had transferred all of it to Canva to start laying it out.” The splashes of green on the cover and interior font, for example, match the green ribbon symbolizing celiac disease.
(2024 Graduate Ellie Braaten)
The next step in the process was finding an illustrator. Having seen some of Ellie Braaten’s work, Anderson approached her tennis teammate. “I knew that she wouldn’t be offended if I asked her to do it other ways.”
“I honestly didn’t think she’d want me to do it,” Braaten admitted. “She came up to me in the hall, and I was like ‘yeah, I’ll do it,’” but come February, Anderson showed up again to go through the book page by page. Braaten’s reaction: “Oh, we’re actually doing this!” For Braaten, art was an accidental hobby. Back in 2020, she turned to art for those days she was stuck inside. Once she acquired some art supplies from her mom’s friends, Braaten began to experiment. “I wasn’t very good at it to start, but then, the more I did it, the better I got, and I found out I was pretty good at watercolor.” For The New Normal, Braaten created over twenty separate works of art. “Acrylic doesn’t do what I want it to do. It makes me frustrated, so I tend to use watercolor because it blends better.”
After a month of painting, Braaten and Anderson scanned all the art, uploaded them into Canva, and then uploaded the whole book to Barnes and Noble Press, which allowed them to print a hardcover copy of the book. Initially, Anderson only ordered ten copies to give to her former doctors who were part of her story. “The point of this wasn’t to publish a book,” Anderson laughed, “but I’ve already gotten messages from people who have gotten them from him (at Mayo), so that’s really exciting.” Anderson also sent copies to the doctor who diagnosed her condition, Dr. Adhami. “She cried and everything. It was great.”
After ordering her personal copies, Anderson decided to actually take it to the next step and release it for publication. “That took a while,” she admitted. “It took ten days for them to accept it.” Very quickly both girls began getting texts from people and recognition following the release. “What it’s come out to be is so much better than my expectations,” Anderson added. “I can write an essay, but telling my story was a little daunting. It all just fell together.” While both Braaten and Anderson enjoyed the experience of creating the book, neither is changing career paths because of it. Anderson, having been inspired by watching architects work on the school project, plans to pursue a degree in architecture; however, she plans to leave a door open for more work in writing. “It could become a series. Does it mean it’s going to happen? No. But just the idea of it is kinda cool.”
Copies of The New Normal are available to order from barnesandnoble.com for $14.99
(Originally Published in the Maple River Messenger).
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