Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Lidia Marusic, a 2019 graduate of Visitation Academy, is headed to Miami university in Oxford, Ohio, this fall. She plans to major in business, with the long-term goal of becoming an attorney.
* NOTE: This article appears in the 2019 Private School Handbook.
Today’s students face a litany of issues that earlier generations might not fully understand: social media, rising anxiety and depression, robots… We asked five high school students for their takes. They seem to share an optimistic view of the future despite genuine concerns about the current state of the world—and a shared confusion about Snapchat streaks.
How do you feel about social media—and what’s the deal with Snapchat streaks?
Emma: There is an increased need to feel like you’re putting forward your best face at all times.
Lidia: There’s less of an ability to be ignorant of what other people are doing.
Lulu: I don’t really understand Snapchat streaks. Some people take pride in their Snapchat streaks or score, but I don’t really focus on that.
Gerald: I’ve heard it’s a big deal, but I can’t tell you why.
Lidia: Snapchat streaks are a funny thing. I have some friends who just want it because it’s fun to say, “I have a 500-day Snapchat streak.” It’s like an accomplishment. Social media is kind of like a game for some people. I think it’s kind of creepy.
Emma: When I was younger, I would go to summer camp, and I would have someone keep my streaks, because that is what you have to do. I have a friend who I had a really long streak with, and it got lost by whoever was keeping mine while I was gone. My friend emailed Snapchat to get it restored, and now it’s been over 1,000 days.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Emma Petite is preparing for her senior year at John Burroughs School, where she’s active in the Model United Nations. This past year, she traveled to Qatar as part of an international MUN. She will also serve as the yearbook’s editor-in-chief.
How do you feel about tech advancements?
Lidia: People always say that by the time you graduate from college, this percent of jobs haven’t been created yet. I’m not personally worried about it.
Gerald: Technology enhances everything. We now have cars that drive themselves; it’s one of those things you want to see. I want to work in cybersecurity to make sure that people can’t use technology in the wrong way.
Emma: I watched a documentary recently that was talking about the jobs of truck drivers, fast food workers, and factory jobs being replaced by machines in the near future. We’re going to need software engineers and computer programmers… There’s the joking fear that robots are taking over. There was a joke during the Super Bowl that all the commercials had robots in them, like they’re trying to normalize them to us before they overtake everything.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Damien Mayo is part of Chaminade College Preparatory School’s 2022 class. He plays on the school’s basketball team and enjoys golf in his spare time.
Have you noticed a rise in anxiety and depression, as many reports indicate?
Damien: For me and my class, I really don’t see that.
Emma: I think that it’s in tiny part due to the general mental health awareness. I think 50 years ago if someone seemed like they were sad all the time, people would have been, like, “Tough it up.”
Lidia: I think it’s because there’s a lot of interconnectedness between people due to social media. You’re not just comparing yourself to the people closest to you anymore; you’re comparing yourself to people you’ve never met, and you don’t know if their life is as good as it seems based on how they portray themselves on the internet.
Lulu: The workload that teachers are now giving us is a lot to handle. People are managing social lives, school, and sports, and it’s just a lot.
Gerald: There’s a lot of pressure that comes from trying to do your best.
How do you maintain a positive outlook?
Damien: I just try to keep a positive image of the world, because everyone is not bad. It’s just a group of people who do negative things trying to make it a negative place, but overall the world is a great place.
Gerald: I stay optimistic, because the people in my class—we’re going to do good in the world. We don’t shy away from these certain things. We talk about them, even though it’s not comfortable.
Emma: I listen to politicians debate, and I’m, like, “None of this is going to matter if we don’t have a planet to make these changes on.” I think there is a growing youth movement with climate change.
Lidia: I’ve always taken environmental issues for granted, and now I’m seeing that we really can’t take the world for granted.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Lulu Klebe just finished her freshman year at Villa Duchesne and started her first job this summer. Entering high school was intimidating at first, she says, but it was more manageable than she expected.
How do you handle the precarious dance between being treated as an adult and like a kid?
Lulu: My mom always tells me that my frontal lobe isn’t fully developed, but then she expects so much from me. It’s hard. I still feel like I’m a kid, but then [I got a job] this summer. It’s pressure to grow up, but you’re also being pulled back, like you’re not mature enough for that.
Emma: It does feel like a lot sometimes, but I think it’s hard because we’re in this transitional phase of our life where everything that we’ve ever known is changing.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Gerald Bently will be a senior at MICDS this fall. He plays football and baseball, and will serve as the co-head of the Black Student Union. He hopes to major in cybersecurity or mathematics education in college.
What’s the most misunderstood thing about teenagers?
Damien: How much sleep we need.
Lulu: When I say I’m OK, I mean that. I like being by myself, so when I’m up in my room watching Netflix, I’m happy doing that.
Emma: I think the world we’re living in now is completely different than the world that our parents grew up in. While I’m sure high school was stressful and friend groups were stressful when my parents were in school, there are large amounts of pressure coming at us from every angle every single day.
Gerald: When we’re stressed, we can get riled up, because we have a lot on our minds. You have to give us a little bit of patience.
Lidia: Right now is the time where I’m starting to figure things out—or I feel like I am. With that feeling of autonomy, if we’re not allowed to fall and scrape our knees, then we’re going to be stuck as we move into the real world. Just being able to try things on my own—I just want to be able to try.
