The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for executive functioning, grows throughout our time in high school. Prioritizing, assessing risks, and good decision making are all things that mature over time as it grows. This means that freshman have underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes while high school seniors have the opposite. In this episode, I interviewed a Senior (Oliver) and Freshman (Henry), where I learned their differing perspectives about being high school students.
Oliver is about to complete his fourth and final year of high school, after which he will begin college, hopefully at UVA. “The college counseling team has been a huge help, constantly checking in and making sure we’re on track,” Oliver said when asked how ISB supports him in his journey. He also mentioned how ISB gives him and his classmates opportunities to step up, through leading clubs, playing sports, and volunteering.
Oliver has taken advantage of this, as he’s been a part of varsity volleyball, basketball, and track and field. He’s also an officer for Political Science and UNHCR, and spent two weeks in Chiang Rai volunteering at a school. Putting focus back on the present, Oliver mentioned that what he appreciates about being a senior is that “there’s this feeling that we’ve all grown up together and finally hit that stage where everyone respects each other”. He also appreciates the unlimited access to the senior lounge. With his time winding down, he and all other seniors at ISB want to finish the year with no regrets, knowing they put their all into high school, and make the most out of it before going their separate ways. “I’m excited to see the results of everything we’ve been working toward…It’ll be interesting to see where everyone ends up and how different paths open up. “
Henry is a freshman at ISB. This means that at the time of writing this article, he has only been out of middle school for four months. When asked about the transition from middle school to high school, he said “It could be seen as a negative because you went from being an 8th grader at the top of middle school, with all the 6th and 7th graders respecting you, to being at the very bottom and having to look up to the seniors and older students.”
Fortunately, Henry also appreciates the perks of high school, like having more freedom, having more diverse friends age wise, and sports team opportunities. Henry currently does JV volleyball and basketball, with the hope of one day going to IASAS. With goals already set for his first year, Henry wants to push himself, while also finding balance. He said “By the end of the year, I want to feel proud that I did the best I could in every class, and I wasn’t just settling for a “good” grade; I was pushing myself. I also want to be satisfied with my balance between sports and social life on the academic side, as well as studying and focusing on classes.” He wants to prove he and all his fellow classmates can not only manage, but excel in high school.
Even with an age gap of only four years, these brothers–one a rookie, one a veteran–are good examples of the significant changes of priorities and perspectives that can happen in a few short years.
