What is a story, happy or otherwise, that you remember that you feel made you into the person you are today?

“Probably the first semester of my freshman year. I mean it’s pretty common, but my parents got divorced. It was pretty hard for a while to stay above water, but once I learned how to cope through everything and get a good work ethic going, I felt like I had what it takes to succeed in a lot of stuff.That’s pretty much what got my confidence up to make me who I am.”

Do you value your successes or failures more? Why?

“As far as value goes, I value my successes more as in bragging rights. But as far as something that made me better or makes me strive to be better, it would be failures. Everyone can relate to if they failed a quiz in math, they’d want to kick it up a gear; it’s not a very uncommon feeling. I feel I’ve had a lot less failures because I value and learn from them.”

If you could watch everything that happened in your life until now, would you enjoy it?

“Yes. I’ve actually had a pretty funny life, at least these past few years. Pretty comical, I think. A lot of laughing, a lot of friends, and a lot of good times. So yeah, I’d enjoy it”

What do you want most out of life?

“Well a very quotable teacher I’ve had this year is Mr. Hudson. He said, ‘Success in life is all about that moment of death where you content on what you’ve done.’ So I guess I just want to look back and say, ‘ Okay, good job; you did it. You did what you’re supposed to do.’”

What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like?

“I’m really not sure I’ve wasted a lot of time. I mean I’ve wasted a lot of time as far as school work goes, but I’m always laughing or something like that. I don’t think it’s a waste of time; I don’t think I’ve wasted much time. So what would it look like? Just laughing and being happy, I guess. Just finding a way to work through it all.”

When did you last push the boundaries of your comfort zone?

“Being recorded for a senior spotlight. Other than that, I pretty much push it all the time. I mean my comfort zone is sitting on the couch watching Netflix or something like that so anytime I’m not right there, I’m pretty much pushing my comfort zone.”

Who are you really? Describe yourself without using your name, or any attributes given to you by society and really think. Deep down, who are you?

“I’m a very laughing, likable guy who enjoys music and sports and friends who to some might come off as crude or immature, but to others as a light-hearted kinda guy. Some people might like me, some people might not. If you don’t like me, well sorry you’re missing out on something pretty cool, and if you do, we’ll probably get along pretty well. I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘typical teenager’ because I feel like by today’s standards, a ‘typical teenager’ is like a depressed, rap, hipster, that kinda stuff. But as far as this school goes, I wouldn’t want to call myself average, but I mean there’s a lot of laughable and likable people here, so I kinda am. I mean I’m a fighter when I need to be and a nice guy when I need to be.”

Are you sincere when you talk to other people or are you just being diplomatic?

“Oh, I’m sincere. I’m not afraid to share an opinion when I need to. Sami Depass will tell you that in AP US Government. If I believe something, then I’ll tell you I believe something.”

What impact do you want to leave on the world?

“Just be nice, be cool. I mean everything’s going to be alright; there’s no need to be mean to everybody. If you’re just a mean person, then you don’t really have a place in society because everyone should be happy. That’s pretty much what I’m trying to get people to think about. Just be nice to everybody, that’s all you gotta do.”

Describe an activity that you love. Now describe a quality that you believe you have acquired through that activity. Give a specific example.

“Football, that’s probably one activity that I love. A quality would be toughness, like mental and obviously physical. Mental toughness, you know, to push through. If we have twenty sprints and you’re on number ten, you’ve got a heck of a long way to go. You’ve just got the have the toughness to get through and do what you gotta do. So toughness and work ethic. I mean it’s not one quality, but it’s the qualities I’ve acquired.”