In the midst of the ‘Whip/Nae Nae’ craze, killer clowns, and everyone freaking out about a dress being blue or gold, high school still went on.
Teddy Castro, class of 2019, had a packed schedule in high school. According to him, however, this was the sure way to get the most out of his teenage years.
Castro cited that his most memorable experiences of high school were as follows: volleyball, golf, KRAM, Future Business Leaders of America, French Honor Society, Varsity Club, basketball, Mini-THON, RAMS Team, Drama Club, Spring musical, and most likely more, which he was not able to recall. Along with these, he was awarded the title of “Most Theatrical” in the yearbook’s superlative section.
His involvement in the social scene doesn’t stop there: Castro also worked at the fast food chain Five Guys for his junior and senior year. Through all of these activities, he encountered great people.
“[Getting to know your peers] is worth your time. Approach new environments actively and with an open mind. Approach new people this way too,” advocated Castro.
Post-graduation for Castro came with big dreams, which he still carries with him today.
He pursued post-secondary education at Columbia College Chicago, where he hoped to have his big break as a film director. Through his studies, he learned what makes a good director and made himself well-rounded with multiple English and political classes.
With this major, he was given the opportunity to write and direct a feature film in Chicago for his senior thesis, which was funded by the college. Suddenly, his dreams didn’t look so far away, as he was accepted into a study abroad program in Los Angeles, where he was interning for a talent agency in West Hollywood.
There, he gained experience in various types of videography and photography for events. Once the semester was over, he returned to Chicago. Castro is now found doing real estate photography for Zillow full-time.
Castro is truly a role model for students who feel or are told that their post-graduation dreams are too ambitious. While the reality of the film industry’s nature may have hit him, he continues to hope for and work towards his goal of becoming a successful director.
“I continue to write scripts, work on sets, plan shoots, and I have a film festival submission plan for this summer as I wrap up song licensing and sound mixing to finalize and premiere my thesis film,” said Castro.
Bringing it back home, Castro has found that his experiences in Chicago contrast largely to his time at our school. One specific way that this was manifested was through self expression.
In high school, Castro’s self-presentation was centered around fitting in as he walked the halls. This meant following the trends and observing what others were wearing in order to avoid unwanted, negative attention.
“We all wore a lot of khakis, joggers, and I exclusively wore Vans and plain colored t-shirts,” Castro described.
A handful of his classmates also wore cowboy boots, he noted, but this wasn’t a fad that he partook in.
In college, Castro found that many of his peers were hand-making their clothes and had defined, established versions of themselves – ones not dependent on others. To combat this issue, he found that he had to be his truest self to fit in with his new surroundings.
For Castro, this meant learning the lesson that utilizing creativity and following his own thought process were survival tools. He was able to “find [himself], and in the process, find truly like-minded friends” using this methodology.
In addition to his style evolving, Castro’s music taste has shifted since his teenage years.
To set the scene: Castro and his friends typically listened to rap and hip hop artists, as well as some tunes from the 80s. A few of the most notable artists were Childish Gambino, Drake, Travis Scott, Mac Miller, and Queen.
Nowadays, you’ll hear a different beat from Castro’s speaker: country and folk music. This drastic change was accompanied with him learning how to play guitar.
The transition from rap to folk/folk-pop is a more common phenomenon these days. In the halls, Noah Kahan and Lumineers fans are not so rare.
From a younger viewpoint, current students shared their experiences with trends from 2010 to 2019:
Senior Chloe Jones recalled that the most prominent trends that she remembered from the time were “the Renegade dance, ponytails in the middle of the head, and fake mustaches.” Other students had similar responses, such as being obsessed with the TV show Stranger Things, narwhals, slime, Silly Bandz, and fidget spinners.
Castro wished to share some of his newfound wisdom with current students. In this, he described that teachers must be appreciated, for they are necessities for better people and better futures.
He also wished to shed some light on discrimination: “You will never regret standing up for what is right, and standing up for what is wrong. Even hurtful words and harmful ideas that seem small and insignificant, I can assure you, are not.”
With the increasing awareness of the betterment of mental health, it’s necessary that Castro’s words of encouragement are heard. Take it from him: get involved, reach out to your peers, and “do everything that you can to appreciate the people you meet and the things you learn.”
