Using a whiteboard in the new section in the 500 hallway, sophomore Josh Dyches hand-writes messages to junior Andrew Monahan.
They begin with a jubilant greeting and end with him eagerly waiting for a reply, containing a unique question he must find an incentive for.
“So I begin writing, and as I finish my ‘how’s life,’ that’s when the inspiration comes to me,” Dyches said. “It typically comes from a small thought, and I get to that thought by starting with things I’ve been thinking about lately.”
The frequency with which Dyches writes letters to Monahan varies.
“I write one or two a week,” Dyches said. “Sometimes I have more time on my hands, and if he responds right away, I’m more likely to write one sooner. Recently, he’s not been the best about answering.”
Dyches, inspired by his older sister, started writing his messages to pass the time.
“I could do actual productive schoolwork, or, since I know that Andrew Monahan has a class in this area, I could write a random letter to him on this board and see what happens.”
Monahan reads Dyches’s letters when enough people have asked if he’s read them yet.
“I’m not hesitant,” Monahan said. “I just don’t have time.”
Thinking Dyches deserves an entire message instead of short responses, Monahan said he hasn’t gotten the chance to write one; although, when Dyches writes his letters, Monahan knows.
“Me and Josh share a special bond,” Monahan said. “Sometimes I feel it in my soul before someone tells me he’s written a message.”
Dyches’s favorite writing was when he talked about music. He describes how the development and timeline are fascinating to him.
“I was talking about my style of music and what I find interesting,” Dyches said. “I loved to spew my thoughts onto this page.”
Dyches estimated that 250 people read the boards, so he wanted more participation.
“I could get people involved with this if I have a comment section or a box of boredom, so I did that,” Dyches said. “I felt great joy as many people wrote and drew things.”
Additionally, Dyches included a box for Monahan’s response and a box for math.
In contrast, Monahan thinks differently about the viewers’ participation.
“Maybe 10 students genuinely will read them,” Monahan said. “But I bet approximately 250 probably see the message.”
One of these 250 people is math teacher Jonathan Jost, whose classroom is nearby.
“I think it’s a neat idea [and] an interesting way to correspond,” Jost said. “People are entertained by it a little bit.”
Jost hopes Dyches and Monahan keep messaging, having fun and making life interesting.
Unfortunately, the publicity of the whiteboard brought issues.
“When I first started it, one of the custodians erased it; they also started erasing at the beginning of this year,” Dyches said. “They have started to catch on that I erase it when I wish, which is typically right before I do my next one.”
Dyches also shared that he has had to rewrite a message once.
“They destroyed the words,” Dyches said. “I rewrote every single thing.”
Whether his messages were erased with good or evil intent, Dyches wrote a new letter addressing the people who erased them.
“This time, I hope that person reads it and knows they do not need to erase it unless they have a legitimate reason,” Dyches said. “I will seek them out, and they will face my words.”
