As someone about to graduate, I reflect on my time at Mount Carmel with a regret.
When I first walked into Mount Carmel as a freshman, I did not really understand what growing up meant. I was immature and always kind of goofing around. I did not take things as seriously as I should have, and I wish I had a different approach back then.
At the time I thought high school was just about getting through classes and having fun with friends. Now that I am a senior, I see that it was much more than that.
High school helped me grow as a person, face challenges, become a more mature individual and an overall better person. One of the biggest ways I changed was through the challenges I faced.
During my sophomore year, I had a bad attitude. This wasn’t simply being mean to everyone or not respecting others. It was an attitude where I turned into a whole different person. My grades started to drop, and I was not treating people the right way, especially at home. I was not proud of who I was becoming.
At some point I had to stop and think about my actions, had to ask myself what I was doing and why I was pushing the ones I loved away. The moment I really realized I needed to change was because I saw people like my friends kind of not include me as much. I started to calm down and focus more on school and my behavior. Over time, I became a more responsible person and more aware of how I treated people because it started to affect myself.
My biggest challenge came during my senior year when my mother got sick. That was something very hard for me to deal with. At first I really tried to deal with it alone, but I couldn’t just try and do it alone. I kind of pushed it away and didn’t want to face the problem. It was always so hard for me to open up to people in general before, so this was no different.
On Kairos there are opportunities to be open with your peers on the retreat, but before that I had talked with three of my closest friends, and I had kind of given them a gist of what I wanted to speak about, and on the retreat iswhere I first opened up about it. It really wasn’t easy, but it helped me a lot. It taught me that being strong does not mean doing everything alone. It means trusting the people who care about you
Another big part of my high school experience was the friendships I made. My closest friends, TJ McQuillan, Anthony “Chavee” Chavez, and Christian Clark have been with me since freshman year. We used to sit in the locker room after basketball practice and just talk about anything while waiting for our rides home. Those moments may seem small, but as you keep having those little moments, they build an unbreakable bond.
As the years went on, our group grew bigger through baseball and other activities. Even though I lost friends outside of school, I had gained stronger ones at MC. I would say that high school taught me that it is not about having a lot of friends but about having the right ones who will be there for you in the toughest times.
Teachers and coaches also had a big impact on me. Teachers like Mr. Tim Baffoe and Mr. Dan Burke were two that always stood out to me, even though they are both very different teachers. Mr. Baffoe cares that each student was on their work everyday and that they doing it the right way and aren’t trying to take shortcuts. On the other hand, Mr. Burke has really good connections with students and preaches God to them in a way that is unique, where he’s not just telling students to open a Bible but more opening their thoughts.
I also learned a lot from one of my coaches, Mr. Jeff Stur. He helped me understand that it is okay to talk about what I am going through. Before we had a conversation about my struggles I would think that it was better to keep everything inside. He showed me that opening up can actually make things easier. That lesson changed how I deal with my problems now and in the future.
As I get ready to graduate, I feel both excited and nervous. I’m excited to move on to play college baseball and study kinesiology. My goal is to become a physical therapist. At the same time I feel nervous because I do not know exactly what will happen next.
Even with that feeling I know I am ready for the next step because of what I’ve learned at MC.
High school changed me in many ways. I came in as someone who did not take things seriously, and I’m leaving as someone who understands responsibility and growth. I learned how to handle challenges, build strong friendships, and prepare for my future.
Mount Carmel isn’t just the school about grades. It teaches a young boy that if you care to struggle and work hard and learn from your lessons, you’ll become a young man.
