Growing Up on Campus

Students have dreams for their future–aspirations of what they want to become and where they want to go in life. Some are still exploring, while others hold dreams that guide their choices each day. For Freshman Isabella Cabanillaokano, it’s all about “a good job and steady career” that will allow her to provide for her family “without relying on anyone else.”

Sophomore Christopher Mallari is a bit more ambitious and wants to be a “professional athlete in golf, or at a good college.” 

To reach their goals, students need more than talent. They need a change in mindset, how they approach their goals, and the responsibilities that come with all of this. It means having growth in the sense you no longer think like little children, but learn to take action and make choices with a clearer understanding of what matters.

“It kind of hits you how serious things are gonna get,” said an anonymous junior. “I actually have to start, you know, doing college work.” Reflecting on middle school and how popularity was more of a priority, they explained how the focus has shifted in high school. The weight of academics and the future has everyone looking at “more pressing matters.”  

Austin Jacob, a junior, who seemed shaken by the fact that to “get most jobs, you need to graduate high school,” realized that “This is actually where grades matter.” He admitted that the reality of the situation has made him focus on his academics more.

Jacob and other students are starting to realize the importance of acting with purpose, as the decisions they make now can influence their future. They’re beginning to gain a stronger sense of maturity. 

“…We Tend to Do a Whole Lot More Dumb Things.”

The definition of maturity is slippery. One anonymous senior struggled to describe it, saying “Your maturity is like..I don't know.” Despite failing to define it, they admitted that “I could definitely be more mature, but I feel like sometimes I don't act like it.” 

Librarian Tara Nakata sees maturity as something that moves and shifts.  Maturity, she says, is  “acting appropriately for the stage of life that you're in or like beyond, right?” A toddler might be, in some sense mature for their age, but “you wouldn't expect a toddler to have the social and emotional and academic intelligence of a high schooler.”  

For some, maturity is self-reliance. The famous philosopher, Emmanuel Kant, once described immaturity (as a metaphor for the period before the historical enlightenment) as “the inability to use one’s understanding without the guidance of another.” A mature person thinks for themselves, he explained, by using their own knowledge and reasoning to form judgments.  

Differently, Jade Cabanilla, a sophomore, describes a mature person as “someone who's aware of the actions that they're doing … and how it kind of impacts others.” French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau agrees. He explained that maturity isn’t just independent reasoning, but also the feeling you get from real-world experiences. 

He argued that feeling and experience are how we grow and how children begin to “foresee their needs before they feel them.” When they learn to think, feel, and respond mindfully–they develop an awareness of causes, effects, and their place in the world. 

Students and staff at Lahainaluna seem to understand some of this, noting that maturity involves having a consciousness and control of one’s emotions and actions, even though they may not always apply it. According to recent survey data, many of our students see themselves as able to be mature in this way. 

The social and emotional learning (SEL) survey is a yearly questionnaire that asks about students' emotions and behaviors in an academic setting. According to this year’s report, 70 percent of lahainaluna students responded favorably regarding self management questions. This is an increase of 60 percent last year. 

In this data, 73 percent of students agreed to being attentive and prepared for class while 79 percent reported working to follow class instruction. However, the percentages drop slightly when it comes to working independently. 68 percent responded favorably to staying focused when working on their own and only 51 percent to not procrastinating 

College and career counselor, Ginny Yasutake, echoes Rousseau’s idea. “Exposure to real-world experiences is key” to maturity, or to “how we handle the issues we face and how we learn from them,” she said.  

Yasutake is a Lahainaluna alumni who sees her experiences at the school as instrumental to her personal growth and maturity. Her very first job, she said, was with the Japanese Summer Seminar at Lahainaluna, a two-week program where students from Japan stayed in the boarding department.

As a student worker, Yasutake helped with daily tasks like cleaning the dorms and preparing meals. She thinks that the experience “taught me about responsibility and teamwork.” Importantly, it also gave her her first paycheck.

Yet, maturity levels are not all about decisions, says Kristy Arakawa, early college coordinator. “When you're in high school, [your brain is] not fully formed yet. So, I mean, we tend to do a whole lot more dumb things. Once you become an adult, we realize how dumb we really were.” 

 “Everyone has time to do something.”

Arakawa observes that she has “definitely seen some mature freshmen.” Yet, she has always noticed a shift in students’ senior year. “It's amazing to see some of these freshmen that I knew,” she said. “And come senior year, they're like a whole new person.” Yasutake added that, in her experience, students during their junior year typically “start asking questions about life after high school.” 

For Yasutake, a huge part of the maturing process is time management, which she found during her high school years to be “the most challenging.” 

Transitions teacher, Mark Watasaki, feels his “maturity levels were definitely under developed” in high school. “It's still pretty low, but I think it’s because in high school, I really focused a lot on the whole, you know, social interactions.” 

“I didn't really have a lot of different experiences, so I didn't really get to learn about that whole social and emotional side of growing,” he explained. “I mean, we'd hear about it in class, but I didn't actually practice it.” 

“Last year, I had a lot of bad grades because I just procrastinated,” admitted Sophomore William Webb “I thought I could get D’s because I was still passing.” A year older, he now tries to complete most work during class so he has less to do at home, acknowledging that “after school, I kind of get distracted more easily … I want to sleep or watch YouTube.” 

An anonymous junior makes sure to set a certain amount of time aside for work. “Everyone has time to do something,” they said. “Sometimes we don’t think so because you might get in your head about stress, but remember you are responsible for yourself. So do what you know you can do.” 

Similarly, Jacob says that “it’s how your brain kind works, it’s the way you think.” Maturity involves “being able to get stuff done when you're supposed to. Knowing when to say and when to not say certain things–when to do, when to not do certain things.” 

Nakata thinks that high school can accomplish some of the same things.  It “gives you a place to practice and learn.” Students learn responsibility, emotional growth, and decision making (traits of maturity) when they are “given a set of expectations that you need to rise to.” 

“...I Can’t Go Around Just Doing Whatever Anymore…” 

Nakata said that the most challenging part of high school for her was “finding the balance” or managing all her responsibilities. This has become much harder for our generation since we are so heavily involved and influenced by social media. We must now navigate a complex digital world, said Yasutake. “The new pressures and anxieties can significantly impact their emotional and social maturity.” 

One way to navigate these challenges, Cabanillaokano thinks, is “having a couple of good friends you know have your back.” 

Yasutake agrees. In her personal experience, “having great friends who were good role models pushed me to better myself and so be a good role model for others, it can make a difference for someone.” 

Jacob says that friends are an important and valuable part of life, but emphasizes the importance of staying on top of priorities. “I only have a good year left until things get more serious. I can't go around just doing whatever anymore. I can actually get in trouble for doing all kinds of dumb stuff.”