Sophomore Liam Manders was dead set on playing the drums until his parents said no that is.

After getting over the fact that him being a drummer was a no-go as his parents refused to budge on their ‘no drums’ policy, Liam decided something about the guitar called out to him, and it would still give him that creative outlet he was hoping to gain in his shift from the piano to this new instrument—he had gotten rather bored of the piano. It also helped that his parents approved of this new musical endeavor of his.

“I got bored of piano,” Liam said, “and [I] wanted to try something else, but my parents wouldn’t let me do [the] drums, so I [play the] guitar. It was about a year ago when [I was like], ‘I want to do [the] guitar,’ and I was watching YouTubers that play guitar.”

Liam’s chosen method of learning how to play this new stringed instrument was to watch other play-through video recordings, but that wasn’t the only thing keeping him busy.

His favorite cure to boredom is to keep busy with activities that provide a creative outlet. 

“I really enjoy playing the guitar, especially in the past year,” Liam said. “I’ve gotten more into it as well as working on Boy Scouts, and I’ve also worked a little bit with computer programming.”

Liam’s always enjoyed activities that allow him to express himself and get his brain working. Activities like Boy Scouts and guitar allow him a way to express himself and a way to fill his free time with something he genuinely enjoys doing, but computer programming is a skill he could foresee being useful for a future job or hobby after college.

“I do want to create things,” Liam said, “create stories and such. [I’ll] most probably [be] a video game designer, but I’m still trying to figure that out.”

And while Liam is creative in his own outlets, he gets his artistic side from his father, Jeff Manders, who is the Media Comm, Film Projects, Broadcasting, and AP Government teacher here at school.

Even though it seems that it would be a bit odd having his dad as a teacher at the school he attends, it doesn’t seem to bother Liam in the slightest. He actually likes having his dad at school.

“Honestly, I don’t really feel anything different from a normal student,” Liam said. “I’ve had him in class, but it still just felt like a normal teacher. It just felt like I’m going to normal school.”

Having him as a teacher for one of the many electives he teaches wasn’t anything different than having a normal teacher for Liam. While at school, Liam felt like just a normal student.

“For the most part, [it’s a separation of relationships],” Liam said. “Although sometimes I’ll go before school or after school to talk to him, and it’s nice if I need help getting something signed because I can quickly go and ask him.”

While having his own father as a teacher is weird for Liam, he admits that it is a little strange to watch his friends experience both sides of his dad. 

Hearing his friends talk about the assignments he gave or the test score he gave them is a little odd for Liam, but he’s used to it by now.

“It’s kind of weird with my friends having him in class because then they talk about him,” Liam said. “His personality is a little different when he’s teaching than when he’s at home, and it’s interesting to see their side of view because they’ve also met my dad at home too.”

Despite what he or his friends feel about having his dad for a teacher, Liam still continues to further explore the creative outlets that call out to him and hopes to keep improving with his guitar and learn more about the world of computer programming.

“Be more open and be more expressive of yourself,” Liam said. “Don’t be shy to show what you like to do.”