From crossing-guard buddies to East Coast collegians
Josie Bradsby, Lydia Reedy have been inseparable since elementary school. After navigating middle, high school together, they aren't going to let a six-hour train ride interrupt their friendship for long
June 9, 2023
Seniors Josie Bradsby and Lydia Reedy have been friends for as long as they can remember. Now as they’re headed off to college, a once five-minute walk to each other’s houses will now be a six-hour train ride.
Bradsby and Reedy became friends during their time at Highland Park Elementary together. As fifth-graders, they were assigned as crossing-guard buddies, where they’d help direct traffic at dismissal.
“It’s been written in the stars since day one,” Reedy said. “We were friends till like fifth grade and that’s when the insane codependency started because at that point we were crossing-guard buddies.”
Every day after school, Bradsby and Reedy would walk to Russell’s Bakery, get Italian sodas and walk home together.
Bradsby feels because of her and Reedy’s close proximity, their friendship was inevitable as they hang out all the time.
“We used to play Chopped at each other’s houses, and we’d get in so much trouble because we’d always make the most grotesque food,” Bradsby said. “We’d use the important things and leave dishes everywhere, and people would eat them and judge. We’d also go to each others’ houses and make tuna salad. That was like our big thing, and we loved pickles and guacamole. We had our ways.”
After elementary school, they continued on the same academic track, attending Lamar Middle School and later McCallum together pursuing similar interests.
“Ever since I can remember, we’ve been best friends,” Bradsby said. “We were both Lamar Middle School girls. We joined newspaper together. Yeah, light of my life, I love that girl.”
Bradsby feels that throughout all of their time together, Reedy has always been there for her during pivotal points in her life.
“She has been a really big part of my life for a really long time,” Bradsby said. “She is one of my biggest supporters, she is my support system. She’s always accepted me for who I am. She was the first person I came out to.”
Bradby feel that her friendship with Reedy holds a rare but special connection that provides a safe space where she can feel loved and accepted as she is.
“She’s always been there for me and been a few houses down,” Bradsby said. “When things aren’t great at my house or aren’t great at hers, she’ll come over to mine or I’ll go over to hers.”
Bradsby believes her friendship with Reedy has had a highly influential effect on her identity and has molded her into the person she is proud of today.
“She’s like my second family, we’re just so conjoined. It’s freaky,” Bradsby said. “People refer to us as one entity. I think through high school we’ve gotten more divided in the sense of our different interests, but we’re always together, we carpool. She’s my best friend, love that girl.”
Reedy feels that Bradsby will always be someone present and consistent in her life no matter the circumstances.
“I think wherever I am in life, I will have Josie, and I have had Josie and I just think that’s been a really nice sense of comfort,” Reedy said.
Reedy and fellow senior Julia Husted made sure that their Pink Week investment produced the desired result as they upgraded from water balloons to a full bucket of water that found its intended target.
At McCallum, Bradsby learned how to be herself, how to speak out
Bradsby plans to attend SUNY Purchase in upstate New York for creative writing in the fall, in hopes of becoming a notable children’s author.
“They have a really good creative writing program,” Bradsby said. “I go to go visit it and what I like about McCallum is what Purchase is for me, so like I’m excited about that because it’s McCallum without the stuff I don’t like.”
Bradsby hopes to continue to be involved in recreational activities that bring her gratification and community.
“I’d definitely continue writing and maybe a recreational sport like volleyball,” Bradsby said. “There’s a lot of biking, which would be fun, and it’s an art school so art, so I’ll be surrounded by art and music.”
Throughout her time at McCallum, her involvement in PALS impacted her the most.
“Nothing had made me feel as involved or as meaningful or important as PALS did,” Bradsby said. “It just really bonded me with people at McCallum, and I thought that was really cool. The first time Silvio Guzman waved at me in the hallway and was like ‘Hi Josie!’ I almost cried. It was so overwhelming, I was like ‘Oh my god I’m a person at McCallum now, like people know who I am.’”
Bradsby will most miss her TA period with Ms. Seckar’s Algebra I class, interacting and mentoring McCallum underclassmen.
“I have a good time with them, and it’s really fun to interact with them and have those one-off interactions where it’s really easy to talk to them,” Brasby said. “I feel like I’m gonna miss not only them but that aspect of high school where you could be in mixed classes where one’s a freshman and you’re just kind of there, and you just get to see them live.”
Bradsby feels that all of her English teachers greatly impacted her life in helping her build confidence in her writing, encouraging her pursuit of creative writing. She feels Ms. Northcutt helped her get through online school when it was over Zoom and difficult to engage.
“Ms. Northcutt really helped me through all of that and that was really good and it was good to have some positive feedback when I felt like my lowest,” she said.
Bradsby and Reedy joined photojournalism together freshman year and later went on to join The Shield where they had Mr. Winter for all four years of high school.
“I love Mr. Winter,” Bradsby said. “He always makes me feel loved. Even when I’m not doing work that I’m supposed to be doing, he still has that unconditional love for me.”
Reedy shared similar sentiments to Mr. Winter, praising his care for his students despite all circumstances.
“He’s a teacher who isn’t afraid to prioritize his students’ needs,” Reedy said. “He says he’ll love us no matter how little work we do in the class. He’ll love us the same amount he loved us freshman year.”
Bradsby’s biggest takeaway from high school is to be authentically yourself. She feels that being true to who you are enables you to find your people.
“[High school] taught me that people will like me even if I’m really aggressively me,” she said. “I was really scared at the beginning of high school to be myself especially because of quarantine. I came back to school and was like, ‘Yeah I’m openly queer, I dress very aggressively sometimes, and I’m pretty loud.’”
Bradsby feels the biggest thing she’ll carry with her from McCallum is the way it taught her to positively relate to others.
“I’ve made really good relationships here that I hope I keep, and even if I don’t everything I like learned with how I’ve interacted with students here and like my peers and teachers I can apply to my life,” she said. “The school has really supported me in speaking out and it makes me very happy to be able to help people.”
As a student leader in KASA, Bradsby feels that the organization has been vital in amplifying students’ voices, advocating for survivors, and cultivating a support system for McCallum students.
“KASA has really helped me develop that sense of importance when it comes to what we do as individuals and I really want to keep that with me,” she said. “I want to be able to be proactive and try and stop things before they happen and be very vocal about it.”
Although nervous about the transition to college, Bradsby feels excited about the freedom to meet new people and grow into herself through these new experiences.
“It’ll be good to be able to go into college being who I want to be and not having the stigma of people who you maybe grew up with being like ‘Well that can’t be who you are because I knew you and you were eight and you weren’t like that,’” she said.
After experiencing her older sister leaving for college, Bradsby knows that transition in the family can be hard; however, she hopes to maintain a strong connection with her younger sister Elyza.
“I feel like my sister has helped support me all throughout my life, she’s my biggest advocate and I’m very much an Elyza advocate, I love that girl,” Bradsby said. “I just wish that I could be here to support her. I also think that she’ll be fine. It’ll just be a transition for me.”
Reedy said that prom was a special event because it provided a moment of togetherness for seniors before graduation. She said that she and her friends, like senior Julia Wallace and Bradsby shown here at a Mac boys soccer game at Nelson Field, have had many moments of sadness realizing that they are about to go their separate ways.
Reedy finds chances to be creative, build community in Vermont
Reedy plans to attend the University of Vermont for psychology in the fall, in hopes of becoming a pediatric counselor.
Reedy’s interest in psychology was spurred by an upbringing with Nancy Drew novels, who done it puzzles and a sixth-grade job aptitude test.
“I took an aptitude test for a sixth-grade assignment, and it said that I would make a good therapist, and I’ve just kinda rolled with it since,” Reedy said. “I also went through a really big true crime phase. Human behavior is just really interesting to me.”
Through her pursuit of pediatric counseling, Reedy seeks a gratifying career that enables her to grant support to people in need.
“I think it’s fascinating that people can come from very different circumstances and end up very similar people or vice versa,” Reedy said. “As someone who didn’t have the most splendiferous childhood, I think it would be really really rewarding to help kids who are struggling with their mental health, and have the experiences I didn’t really get to have.”
During her time at McCallum, Reedy found herself drawn to many of the arts including the McCallum Youth Dance Company, ceramics classes and other creative pursuits like newspaper and Writing Center. Inspired by her love for creative opportunities, Reedy will be a part of the arts and creativity living community at her university next year.
“It’s a program where you dorm with them and then the communities have certain events like arts and crafts nights,” she said. “They also put on this music festival in the spring and offer seminars you can take.”
Next year, Reedy hopes to continue her exploration of creative interests by joining her university’s student radio.
“I just really like listening to music,” she said. “I kinda don’t care if anyone is listening to the music I play. I just think it would be a really fun thing to do. When I toured the campus the student radio is in like in the basement of the student union, and I loved it, it was great.”
Upon reflection, Reedy feels that her favorite memory from high school was prom. She felt it was a bittersweet moment as it was one of the last fun gatherings before the senior class goes their separate ways.
“It was fun seeing everyone get dressed up and dancing around, it was sweet,” Reedy said. “I think with graduation approaching, it was nice to just see everyone having a blast. I know with some of my friends there has been a lot of silence lately with the realization that we’re all moving very far away from each other, so at least in my little group we were all just happy for the night.”
Reedy will most miss the free stuff outside the library at McCallum. Her stops at the library cart have become an integral weekly ritual for her and Bradsby.
“That’s my favorite part about this school,” Reedy said. “I’ve found so much good fabric there, and it’s saved me many trips to any craft store. It’s nice. There’s a lot of resources there, and it’s just a cool place.”
Reedy’s biggest takeaway from her time in high school is to not let your insecurities define you. She feels that allowing yourself to be you draws the right people to you.
“I’ve learned that there’s no point in being insecure, it only holds you back,” Reedy said. “ I think really owning who you are and leaning into that is definitely beneficial, and it’s a weird feeling because I think it can make you feel even more out of place at first, but just going with it is good.”
Reedy is excited for the move across the country, but also nervous about the change in climate.
“I’m really worried about how much money I’m going to have to spend this summer because I have to buy a whole new cold-weather wardrobe,” Reedy said. “I’ve also never gone skiing and that’s like all they do during the winter.”
In reality, Bradsby and Reedy were striking a pose to help the I love MacJ fundraiser in this picture, but it sure looks like they are saddened by the prospect of being apart from each other in college, doesn’t it?
They are already making plans for their first reunion
Although, it will no longer be a five-minute walk to each other’s houses Bradsby and Reedy plan to stay connected despite the circumstances.
“It’s definitely going to be a change, because I can’t just walk to Vermont, but it’s only a six hours away. You can take a train from Westchester to Vermont easy,” Bradsby said. “We’re both going to be very north, and it’s very expensive to fly back down to Texas, so we’ll probably spend holidays together, like Thanksgiving and things like that.”
Bradsby and Reedy plan on keeping up with each other’s lives, despite living in different environments for the first time.
“We’re just gonna have Facetime, a lot and I made her promise to not replace me,” Bradsby said. “We both made friends at our colleges named Chris, so we each have a Chris we can talk about.”
After 18 years of friendship and always being down the street from one another, Reedy feels the transition will be hard. Reedy feels that Bradsby has been a largely integral part of her life, and the prospect of going down different paths is something completely new for both of them.
“I think it’s gonna be really sad not having that aspect of my life, but we’re going to make a plan and stay in contact. I’m not dropping that girl,” Reedy said. “Through all the tumultuousness that middle school brought, we were side by side through multiple friend groups. It’ll be really weird to live without that support system.”
Bradsby feels similar worries, but is confident her and Reedy’s friendship is resilient and can preside over any challenge.
“I’m really nervous because I feel like everyone had that innate fear of being replaced or not being able to get over the hump of that distance, but I definitely feel reassured and feel more comfortable knowing we will be in the same time zone, we will be visiting each other,” Bradsby said. “She’ll still be a really big part of my life.”