As the year comes to a close, a few refrains echo around the halls. “It went by so fast.” We did it.” And, the most tragic, “I wish I did more.” The biggest piece of advice that seniors pass down is to do more, try things, and to care. But how do we care in a world that tells us not to?
Apathy is a lack of excitement, enthusiasm, or passion; a state of indifference. Walking in every day, not caring about the classes you attend, the clubs you see posters for, the people you see. This isn’t always a choice, or anyone’s fault, but instead an attitude absorbed from the culture and media around us.
In TV shows and movies, a few teenage archetypes resurface endlessly— the indifferent popular crowd, the overenthusiastic nerds, the brooding bad boy— the list goes on. The “cool” characters, even those who are changed in the end, are those who don’t try, don’t care, and don’t show enthusiasm. Popular culture has long painted teens as phone-obsessed and checked out, and the danger arises when we start to play along. “Coolness,” as the media defines it, means apathy. That is the box we’ve been handed, and the stereotype we are intended to fit.
This isn’t some nostalgic end-of-year plea to break a longstanding tradition of teenage apathy— that would be unrealistic and unconvincing. A generic call-to-action to care doesn’t resonate with anyone. My only goal is to name the performance of apathy for what it is: a social reflex, not a genuine feeling. To understand how we perpetuate it, we may work to eliminate it.
Boulder High has pushed students past the limitations of apathy for years. With over 100 clubs, activities, societies, and sports, along with award-winning programs, ensembles, teams, and teachers, this year’s 150th celebration is a cornerstone of the connections that are characteristic of BHS. Involvement is inevitable. Interests foster communities. Participation widens identity. Apathy isn’t a genuine crisis, but it could become one if students, teachers, and families stop rejecting the cultural default. If we succumb to the teenager stereotypes of indifference, we face the realities of apathy.
For seniors, the challenge is to carry this resistance forward. The “real world,” outside of the sheltered sphere of high school participation, may continue to define us and be more indifferent, apathetic, and uncaring. Habits of engagement may weaken and be harder to protect. Caring may take more effort outside of these walls.
So, as the semester ends, and for some, their high school years with it, some questions are worth sitting with: Did you let the expectation of a generation define you, and fall into an attitude of apathy? Or, did you push past the performance, show up, and make a real impact?
