Throughout the past years, the @AMHSmonarchs Instagram has become an important medium to represent the immense creativity and cultural appreciation of the Mitty community. Notably, student-made holiday posts for the account have allowed them to showcase art pieces and messages celebrating the many holidays important to those in our campus community.

Applying to design a post is rather simple. “I saw it on Daily Announcements, and so I sent an email to the person in charge of the Mitty Social Media club, and got in,” recalls freshman Eesha Katta who created one on the Diwali holiday. 

The process of creating and publishing a holiday post resembles that of a professional designing company. Students propose ideas and create several drafts, which are then reviewed by administration before being published. Ms. Katie Helland, former Director of Communications, remarked, “It’s a time-consuming process, and students work really hard.” 

The posts usually include photos or original artwork graphically designed by the students. Additionally, some consist of quotes that celebrate the coming holiday. For her post, Eesha used Procreate to draw a mandala, a complex geometric figure commonly used as a spiritual symbol during Diwali.

Designing such an intricate piece was a grueling task; before submitting the final draft, Eesha had to edit it several times. The most difficult part of the process was “making the mandalas symmetrical since Procreate doesn’t really have a steady tool. It took a long time to fix it up for the post,” she explains. But, besides the struggles, this process proved a learning experience for Eesha. “I loved learning about the actual festival,” she remarks. “To be honest, I didn’t really know much about the festival and the true meaning behind it and so the overall process was really fun!”

Beneath each image, a short description of the holiday explains its origin, purpose, and characteristics. For instance, in Eesha’s post, Diwali is described to be “a festival of lights celebrating the victory of good over evil.” 

Through these art designs, students have the power to share the message they feel is most meaningful and appreciative. “I hope this post adds more feeling of community among students because it shows an outlook in another person’s culture that you didn’t know before,” Eesha explains. Such posts serve an empowering purpose of bringing together and educating Monarchs on the importance of each distinct culture or holiday.