Personal revolutions: How much freshmen can change over four years
December 19, 2014
High school traditionally marks a frightening transition in a young person’s life. As middle-schoolers are mostly sheltered from the outside world, they are expected to quickly adjust their usual comforts and conform to the lifestyle high school swiftly forces upon them.
Once a year, a giant group of 14 year olds take one courageous leap into the magical world of pre-adulthood. They step into the halls of high school, where they are no longer surrounded by a sea of preteens. This transition is unlike any other and can be done in a graceful or, traditionally, not so graceful manner. This is their new life for the next four years. They are no longer spoonfed material and rules, nor are they sheltered from the harsh reality that mercilessly permeates throughout the halls of the campus. Despite the grueling realities of this new world, these little teens are faced with more freedom than they have ever known before allowing them to explore and really experience high school.
Some seniors, like Jack Dimmett, reflect on their initial thoughts upon entering high school: “I got to high school only to find that the entire social structure had changed — and I had not done anything to prepare for it. But that is okay! I stayed true to myself and didn’t change right away (…that came later on). It worked out pretty well for me freshman year. As I adjusted, high school turned out just the way I envisioned it. Fun.”
The concept of “high school” has been the stuff of legends, John Hughes films, and popular culture. But the changes that teenagers undergo today are quite different from that of their parents’.
Dimmett personifies a rare case of a student whose transition into this new chapter of life was fairly graceful and contained. During his freshman and sophomore years in high school, Dimmett enrolled in NC’s Magnet program. Through this, he was challenged to broaden his world views and establish some sort of political stance. Dimmett decided early on that he wanted to make the biggest impact he could have on the world. Throughout much research and two years of contemplation, he decided he would never eat meat again.
“That really improved my life: I lost 84 pounds. I had been overweight all my life and did not think about health at all in my decision to become a vegetarian. Once I started reading more and more about the vegan movement and what it meant and how it affected people I also stopped eating processed foods. After that I started exercising semi-obsessively and got to where I am today. Eighty-four pounds, three t-shirt sizes, and three pants sizes down with the rest of my life ahead of me as a holistically healthy, happy individual.”
This stands as a milestone in Dimmett’s life. He refers to it as his “personal revolution.” Along with giving up meat and toxic food, he also made sure to get rid of toxic friendships.
“The negative mindsets of many of the people around me were not what I wanted to be around anymore. I began to meditate on the kinds of people, thoughts, and feelings I wanted in my life and began to gravitate more toward positivity and positive people, and away from things that were causing me great stress and holding me back in life. With positive thinking comes positive being. I am happy more often than I was at the beginning of high school. I spend much more time in a good mood and I don’t have mood swings like many people I know. I am just me, much more so than I used to be.”
As exhibited by Dimmett, a lot can change in four years. One can change drastically, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Certain circumstances and experiences can play a tremendous role in the development of their future selves, with which comes altering hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Throughout all the changes a kid will experience in the 48 months of high school, it is quite rare that their dreams and goals might remain unaltered as well. Consistency is rarely associated with teenagers, especially during these developmental years.
As a freshman, all Dimmett dreamed was to escape the borders of Georgia, go to college, get a job in a mass media field and then eventually work his way up to being a big time movie director.
“Seemed simple enough, right? These were my long term goals. I thought I’d just figure the rest out as I went along,” Dimmett said.
Pressure (both internal and external) challenges many students throughout their high school years.
Although he loves film and is an active participant in North Cobb’s broadcast video production, something changed Dimmett’s mind. Somewhere around sophomore year, he could no longer imagine himself staring at computer screens, writing scripts, and editing films for the rest of his life. Though he would consider it a hobby and first love forever, Dimmett was in search for something bigger and more meaningful to devote his life to.
“When I started looking for something else to do, I decided that I wanted to do something spiritually and mentally fulfilling with my life. My plans are much less solid now. I decided to go from the mystic land of Hollywood to the more mysterious, slightly less glamorous study of religion and philosophy. Yes, I know, everybody and their grandmother has told me that that is a huge career change (my grandmother, however, was very supportive being a priest herself…we call her Father Anne). I am planning on studying religion. All of them. I’m not sure where my degree is going to lead me but I think it gives me a pretty good shot at expanding my mind and soul in college and putting me on a path toward helping people,” Dimmett explained.
Dimmett is a perfect example of a changed mind overflowing and effecting almost every aspect of his present life and future. He learned a lot throughout his transformation provoked by transition into high school.
“I have found happiness in everything that I could (which is everything I do). I have turned my sense of humor from negative and self-deprecating into a positive one that does not make anyone the butt of a joke. I have learned to love myself and the world around me,” Dimmett continued. “I have learned that tomorrow always holds a better day. Eliminate as much negativity as humanly possible from your life. It is going to do nothing but hold you back. Make more time for the positive things. That is what is going to lead you to growth.”
Growth and change is necessary. Dimmett is just one story about positive change in high school and there are many more along with him. It is possible to make it through this sometimes scary and often overwhelming chapter of life.
When asked if he believes he changed for the better, Dimmett’s answer was clear: “I could not imagine thriving as the person I was a year ago. There’s no way. I was bitter and I held grudges and was just all around unhappy with a lot of things. I have certainly done quite a bit of growing up.”
Though the future is never clear and definitely subject to change, Dimmett is extremely hopeful to pursue any plans and goals.
Dimmett ended with, “Whatever happens, I am going to tackle it with a smile on my face and the knowledge that I will get through it and I will survive and I will thrive. And I’ll come out a better person because of all of that. Unlike many seniors I know, I don’t have my whole life planned out. But I know I’m going to love it and I am very excited for the future and what it has in store for me. It’s a beautiful world and I can’t wait to make it mine.”
