Arcata High students, don’t fear the possibility that you peaked in high school, that you’ve reached the high point in your life you may never experience again before even receiving your diploma. Your teachers are here to help you proceed from this point in your life with more confidence about where you can take your future.
Peaking in high school usually has a negative connotation, but senior Amelie Rebstock says, “It doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” Rebstock said peaking just means you are really putting yourself out there, experiencing things, and being the life of the party. You never know, you may peak again.
Senior Emma Martin said peaking is when “you’re the best you’re ever gonna be in your life.” Unlike Rebstock, Martin is scared of what comes after she peaks. She worries that she will never be as good as she once was.
Arcata High teachers may have some experiences from their own peaks and valleys in life to help calm the seniors moving into the next step of their lives, whether they feel like they peaked in high school or not.
That high point in your life is a time when you are really feeling good about your life.
Peaking is “feeling comfortable in what you’re doing and in your life surroundings,” history and psychology teacher Jennifer Rosebrook said. Other teachers had slightly different definitions with the same positive vibe.
Peaking is “reaching potential or having success. Sometimes even surprising yourself with something that takes you down a different avenue than you expected,” agricultural education teacher Kelly Miller said.
According to German Teacher Carolyn Bareilles, peaking is when “you are leading your best life ever” and “feeling as though you’re needed, you’re necessary, and you’re doing good work.”
Different definitions amongst teachers show how peaking is a subjective term. Although their definitions were all slightly different, they were all positive outlooks, and so were their beliefs about what it means for the future.
Miller and English teacher Danielle Witten both said they have never peaked in their lives. Miller hopes she never does and Witten believes she won’t until the day she dies. These teachers’ strategies for never peaking are to always be moving forward, learning more, achieving more, and making yourself a better person.
As Miller said, “Power through, keep going, and find something new to accomplish.”
On the other hand, both Bareilles and Rosebrook can recall a moment in their lives when they peaked. For Bareilles, it was her mid-20s while she was living in Europe, and for Rosebrook, it was during her 40s. Both teachers mentioned that feeling happy and comfortable with their job at the time was part of the reason it felt like a peak.
Even though Bareilles and Rosebrook have peaked in the past, they both believe they can and will peak again.
“[Peaking] was just a recognition that there is a next part of life. There’s a whole new peak to climb,” Rosebrook said.
