Senior Nate Evans has always been slightly independent. From a young age, he has always attempted to complete tasks on his own, venturing from the path of the parental reliance that most kids follow.

He has worked at Meijer for three years, completing various tasks in order to pay for college and his dream car. The car has been a top priority since the day he began to think about getting his license. 

“I worked a lot,” Nate said. “I started working my freshmen or sophomore year at Meijer. I started pushing carts, and I just worked, and I ground up [enough money] and bought a 2014 Ford Mustang; it’s black. I have been thinking about buying that car since I was nine.” 

Buying his dream car was another way for Nate to prove his independence. He worked hard and achieved the first of many dreams. 

“It felt really good,” Nate said. “I was honestly expecting a huge wave of buyer’s regret, and I didn’t [experience it] because I was like, ‘This is something really cool,’ and a lot of kids just have their parents buy their cars, and I think it’s a lot more special to you if you go out and work for something cool, and it just means a lot more to you. That car means a lot because I worked hundreds and hundreds of hours to buy it.” 

Nate is prepared to go out on his own. He is excited to go to college and adventure out into the real world. He is primed but scared for the change that comes with college. 

“I don’t know yet where I want to go to school,” Nate said. “It’s between most of the big state schools. I’m worried. I don’t want to be one of those kids who peak in high school and then are out of it in college. I am hoping I can still have as much fun as I’m having currently in school because I’m having a blast. So I’m a little worried, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.” 

Though it may seem as though Nate spends all of his time working in preparation for this big step in life, he also dedicates a portion of his time to creative hobbies, such as shooting photography and film. 

“I made the decision at the beginning of the year to be on FX,” Nate said. “And it’s probably the best decision I’ve made in my high school career. The environment’s really cool. Everyone in the class is super awesome; you really get to find stuff you’re passionate about in the school and make videos about it, like, ‘Oh, I want to make a video on my friend, Joe. I get to go film Joe and make a video about him and just do a bunch of goofs.’ [Also], Jeffrey Manders is awesome.” 

FX is not the only outlet Nate has for his creativity. His love for photography continues in his independent study. He gets to take all types of photos and explore the different shoots available. 

“I do a lot of other camera related work at school,” Nate said. “I’m in an independent study with Mr. Fewell for photography. So I’ve been using that as an outlet to express myself a little more as well with FX. I take [every type of photo]. I’ve been shooting a lot of hockey games. I shot one last week, but I’m not really experienced with sports photography, so I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll go shoot hockey because why not.’ I take a lot of photos on film as well because I’m quirky like that, but I think it’s just a way cooler way to shoot pictures because you’re not focused on ‘Oh, does this picture look good.’ You’re not going to see it for four weeks until you get it developed anyway, so I’m not worrying about it as much.” 

Nate has many school related outlets for his film and photography. Sadly his stimulating hobbies are stifled outside of the school building. His busy work schedule and the bowling team keep Nate from taking as many shots as he wishes he could. This is one downside of being independent. But the payoff is worth the loss of free time. This is a lesson his father and buying his own car have taught him. 

“I think [buying my own car] has really taught me a lot.” Nate said. “It’s one of my dad’s things. He was like, ‘You’re buying your own car when you turn seventeen’.  I think it taught me a lot about how you have to work for things. A lot of kids have things handed to them, and I’ve grown up buying my own stuff, like I pay for my phone plan, pay for haircuts, pay for everything like that. But it teaches you to be more independent and not rely on other people as much for stuff you need, and I think later in life if something comes up and I need to pay out this medical bill or whatever, it’s not [going to be] a big shock to me that my parents won’t be there waiting for me.”