Maia Lewis-Shunk, Ewan Lister, Maya Heikkinen, Levi Moss / Contributed Photo
Recently, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault that occurred during high school. During his hearing, Justice Kavanaugh’s yearbook and calendars from his high school years were considered. This brings up an interesting question about what should or should not follow teens into their adult life. Should thoughtless texts, cheating on an exam, being mean or cliquey, sending questionable Snapchats, or referencing inside jokes (distasteful or not) in public be considered to be an accurate judge of your character? Many adults said that he should be given a pass because he was just a kid, while others said he was old enough to know better. But what do high schoolers think?
Should something you did in high school follow you into your adult life? Why or why not?
Please note: This in reaction to the Brett Kavanaugh issue. While sexual assault may be included, these responses refer to more a more diverse and legal set of behaviors that may or may not be considered distasteful and immature.
Levi Moss
I think there are many things in high school that follow you whether you want them to or not. For some, high school is considered “The Glory Days” from epic sports seasons they had, while others want to forget about the things they did with their ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend or what happened at the post-dance party “that night.” Whatever it is, I think it’s a part of life and will follow you. With that being said, although it will follow you, I don’t think it necessarily should follow you. There are moments people will want to forget that should be forgotten, but no matter how hard they try, the memory can’t quite leave their mind.
However, I think people should be aware that their actions in high school will impact their future and they should make the most of their time in high school but also be safe and smart while doing it.
Maya Heikkinen
I think that it depends on whether what you did is reflective of your fundamental or true personality, and whether you would do it again. If you made a mistake once but learned from it, this should not follow you; you should be given another chance. However, if you do not regret your actions and the behavior is still ingrained in you, then this should follow you because it is still relevant to your current state of mind. Because you are prone to committing the same act, it is no different than if you had just committed the act recently.
Maia Lewis-Shunk
I think if a serious situation happened to you, it will follow you, like sexual assault. But minor things, like simple texts that you regret sending or cheating on a math exam I do not think should be pondered over in your adult life. You should not concern yourself with something small during high school, but look to the future and see how you can use that situation as something to make you stronger, not weaker.
Ewan Lister
I think for something extreme like sexual assault, that is not only illegal but incredibly harmful to someone else, there should be some reflection or repercussion, but for acts that are just immoral, high school and childhood are meant for learning, and if someone’s personality has changed, then they have already reflected on all of the bad things they did in there life and punishment probably would not teach them much.