“Each to-day well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.” -Inscription in Beverly’s first yearbook.
Beverly abides by its motto “Today Well Lived” in every aspect of its curriculum. The school’s mission is to deliver a rigorous and enriching quality education, helping all students thrive as productive citizens in a complex, changing world.
“Today Well Lived” dates back to 1928. It was first inscribed into the first official yearbook, the Watchtower. The motto is part of an old Sanskrit Proverb, “Yesterday is a dream, tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore to this day.”
The NormanAid Wellness center, founded by Ms. Ali Norman-Franks, highlights this motto and inspires students to make each day “well lived.”
“When I started the Wellness Center I was looking for a name and I realized people didn’t know the school motto. I would say ‘Do you know what our school motto is?’ and nobody did and I loved the motto so much, I felt like it’s perfect for a Wellness Center,” Ms. Norman-Franks said.
“That’s when we made our podcast, Make Today Well Lived, we started using that theme in our logo and everything [else,] and to me I felt like it was important. It focuses on the past and the future, but mostly on the present because that’s really all we have right now, right? Today.”
The wellness center was one of the nation’s first mental health centers. The center has many places to help students feel at ease which includes the de-stress table, the mindfulness space, the mental health library, the private counseling rooms and the resource table.
Ms. Norman-Franks expressed, “I think from working here and seeing how valuable and how important the work that we’ve been able to do here, I feel like every single school needs [one,] and it actually makes me quite sad to know that there’s schools that don’t have wellness centers, but I’m also very hopeful after COVID. I think a lot of schools have started, and we’ve had people come in and tour to see the center because they’re working on sites to create them.”
‘Today Well Lived’ is plastered all over Beverly, with the additional podcast and the MonthlyAid Wellness Programs, Normans are able to become familiar with the motto and live each day to their fullest.
Freshman Audrey Levian says she lives each day well lived “by making sure to make connections with others, and have short term goals to achieve every day.”
Students of Beverly are fortunate to have a motto that pushes them to live their days with the intention of growing and carrying out their potential no matter the circumstances.
Ms. Norman-Franks explains, “All we have is today, but [the motto] focuses on how important living each day to the, I don’t even want to say the fullest, because not every day you can be able to live it to the fullest, but really just being authentic and that’s what’s gonna set you up for the positive future.”
