“The best thing I learned in high school was the meaning of Carpe Diem,” said Jefferson High School senior Santana Page. He considers this to be the best thing he learned.
“It’s something you can use every day, or just some days, it helps get you out of your comfort zone,” he said.
The term Carpe Diem refers to making the most of the present and not worrying about the future. It means not wasting time worrying about anything that will matter tomorrow or the day after, just living in the moment. One of the most important things you can learn at any age, according to Santana.
Santana described the highlights of his high school career as “meeting some of my best friends, being in Michael Hesford’s college writing class, and going to the playoffs for football.” But even with such great highlights, Santana, like many other students, struggled in some areas as well.
“The 8-4 days got really long and tiring and stressful,” said Santana. Much of high school is filled with stress not only from teachers and homework but from the pressure of other students, he said. Though many high school students grapple with the prospect of creating their self-identity, Santana said that he felt that his lack of self-confidence came from multiple things because of depression.
“It didn’t help when coaches and teammates didn’t have confidence in me at the same time and they failed to realize that yelling at people that they suck isn’t going to improve their play” said Santana.
But not all coaches were like that, he said.
“One coach who believed in me in high school was Coach Layng. He gave me a lot of support when others didn’t,” said Santana.
As difficult as it was every day, Santana believed he rose to the challenge of a new day and began to gain confidence in himself.
However, Santana found art as an outlet to express himself in a relaxing and open way without worries about what people thought of his work. Last year, Santana received the artist of the year award. He took two art classes his freshmen year, and then an independent art class later on. During Santana’s senior year he participated in Michael Hesford’s college writing class. This was one of the highlights of this year.
“He doesn’t just teach you about English, he teaches you about life,” said Santana about Hesford.
After high school, Santana plans to go to the University of Montana Western and major in business management, so when he graduates he can help his dad, and seize the day.
Carpe Diem.
