I only barely remember being in lower school and, once a year, seeing the older girls run through the hallways shrieking and dressed up in what seemed — at the time — like ridiculous costumes.

I vaguely remember being a freshman and watching as the sophomores donned what seemed like only slightly less outrageous outfits, and paraded around the cafeteria performing whatever acts the seniors commanded.

I remember being a sophomore and putting on my own, at that point, acceptably ludicrous costume (I was one of several “scares,” complete with a mask), and hiding behind corners as my seniors sisters cried with laughter every time another victim was caught off guard by our antics.

I will always remember being a senior and dressing up my own sophomore sister in a Lost Boy’s costume (part of a Peter Pan skit) and watching as she earned her ring, just as I had done two years before.

In retrospect, having now been on both ends of the Ring Dares, receiving (or giving) a ring actually seems of lesser importance than what one (or one’s sister) does to earn it.

An often-overlooked part of this rite of passage is, as a sophomore, trusting your sister not to make a complete fool of you, but still to come up with a memorable and hilarious dare. The seniors, in turn, then have to bear the responsibility of that trust, and must also have faith in the sophomores to put on a good performance.

While some of the paired sisters know each other from sports or other activities, just as many know each other only from passing in the hallways. That being said, it’s surprising how much trust nevertheless exists between the sisters. With a few exceptions, the seniors always think of appropriately uncomfortable dares, and the sophomores always fully embrace their tasks.

I doubt that this tradition of trust could exist in many other schools, where the dares might easily turn to hazing. Only at Academy could the students have enough tacit trust in each other to willingly — and eagerly — participate in such a potentially (but never quite) mortifying event. Ring Dares, and this trust, is part of what makes Academy, Academy.