By Madie Blais
Staff Writer
Almost everyone has picked up a Chicken Soup bo.ok at some time in his or her life. Whether it was one for the teenage soul, the mother’s soul, or even the one for the dog lover’s soul, these inspirational titles are everywhere, individualized for particular groups of people. Westford Academy will soon have one of its own, as Cailey Boumil and Alex Secontine have come up with a unique senior project. They have decided to make their own book based on students’ experiences at WA.
Officially titled “Chicken Soup for the Westford Academy Soul,” the book is a collection of stories that students have submitted reflecting on their time at the high school. The stories are about something that changed the student’s perspective on life, or even just a funny experience that a student wants to share.
Boumil came up with this idea after not being able to go on internship due to scheduling conflicts with AP classes. “I was wracking my brain for something to do, and I was sitting in my room and happened to open my drawer looking for a pen when I came across a Chicken Soup book. It was an old one, like for the preteen soul, and I was like, oh my God, this would be awesome to do one for Westford Academy,” says Boumil.
Boumil asked Secontine, one of her friends, to assist her with the creation of the book.
Both girls are submitting a story of an experience of their own that has shaped them, and are aiming for at least a total of 20 stories. As a part of their effort in making the book, they will be writing an excerpt in response to each story and how it helped shape them.
“We hope that it’s a good outlet for people, and we get people reflecting on their high school experience, ’cause, especially as a senior right now, I kinda want to reflect back. So we’re hoping to be able to get a bunch of people to do that and maybe have an outlet for people, if there was a tough story to share it with someone and when people read it they are able to understand others’ experiences and get stuff from it the same way that we hope to,” said Boumil.
Their senior project advisor Melanie Jozokos has mentioned trying to get the book published, but the two girls are not sure.
