Re ection

Backwards and forwards

Students must balance looking at the past and planning for the future

A look at the past and the present: the original Fishers High School building and the modern-day version. Photos by Fletcher Haltom. In the media, high school classrooms are lled with tropes; the athletic jock, the brainiac bookworm, the preppy cheerleader and the super harsh math teacher, to name a few. However, lurking outside of the con nes of the classroom is a trope that is, perhaps, much more real: the former student who “peaked” in high school. e type who wears a letterman jacket 20 years later and still constantly swears that he would have gone pro if not for that ACL tear. Avoiding this fate relies on maintaining a healthy balance of nostalgia and future planning; do not forget high school experiences and all that they have resulted in, but also minimize the wallowing in the past and allow for future growth. Part of the reason that nostalgia is so pervasive in high school environments is that being in a school is an intrinsically group-related activity. Dr. Tim Wildschut, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, co-authored a paper that determined the e ect of a group setting on nostalgia. It was found that group memories elicited signi cantly more positive responses from respondents than individual ones, solidifying the idea that group experiences lead to stronger memories and attachments. is is part of what makes leaving high school so di cult; in a school lled with so many people and experiences, it is comforting to fall back on the positive memories rather than to look ahead. e University of Leeds found that our teenage years form a “reminiscence bump.” During this period of development, memories are more vividly kept. Further research has shown that music can light up neuro signals in the prefrontal cortex, where memories are stored. If your freshman year was dominated by the likes of Taylor Swi , Drake or Imagine Dragons, then listening to them years later can evoke positive memories and feelings you had associated with that period of life. Conversely, Dr. omas Hendricks noted that, at its core, nostalgia is idealistic thinking, which can be a slippery slope. Nostalgia is missing the innocence of the past. Going into the future, we will be in more complex situations, but we cannot completely escape the past. Preliminary results in a Chinese study of reminiscing found that it can alleviate minor physical pain, but relying on it for relief is taking it too far. As with many things in life, the key is balance. As bene cial as reviewing the past can be (a 2010 University of Southampton experiment found that nostalgia was correlated with positive e ects such as increased empathy, stress reduction and feelings of happiness), it must be exercised in moderation with planning for the future. In order to avoid perpetually living in the past, future preparations must be emphasized, a task which has largely been accounted for by school e orts such as employability and college or career preparation. ese e orts, which result in monumental increases in overall motivation and success rates, per a 2006 study on rst-year undergraduates at Dublin City University, set students up for success by allowing them to plan for their futures. According to a 2012 paper published by professor of psychology and management Dr. Philip Meissner, engagement in “scenario planning,” or forethought about potential future occurrences, is directly and positively linked with positive decision-making skills and decision quality. Once again, although it can become overwhelming if done in too much detail, preparation for the future is an important step toward moving on from the past. Although many high school experiences are positive, it is never bene cial to relive them and forget about present or future obligations. Similarly, it is also important to remember not to get too far ahead of yourself — fondly reminiscing on high school experiences is only detrimental if done too frequently. Take advantage of the future planning opportunities that have been allocated by the school and go seize the future, while also remembering the experiences and people that shaped you along the way. We will never forget the past four years we have had at Fishers High School. From the highs to the lows, it would be impossible to completely ignore a period of your life. On the other end of the spectrum, the past is not a good place to live. Memories are good to enjoy, but they happened and will not happen again. You are the narrator of your life’s story: you recall what happened in the past, but you need to keep telling your story.

Nate Albin albinnat000@hsestudents.org Fletcher Haltom halto e000@hsestudents.org