Wrestling With Himself

The term “student-athlete” is one that necessitates the commitment to maintaining a high GPA and accomplishing greatness in one’s respective sport. It means that this person is not only an athlete, but that they are simultaneously studying and working hard to ensure they have a bright future in the next chapter of their life. Because these individuals work so hard and stay determined, they are looked up to by their peers and to a degree, considered leaders. For senior Ethan Harris, being a successful student-athlete has become one of the most important parts of his high school career. Like many others, he has been brought up to believe that striving academically is the basis for a promising future, both career wise and academically.

The importance of staying true to oneself is an aspect that is very present in many people’s lives. For Harris, it is the basis of his overall outlook on life, education, and religion. With the given first name of Shinjin, which comes from his Japanese heritage and translates to mean “true person”, Harris has lived his life thus far as someone who never lies to himself and keeps true to the standards he and his parents have set for him. Between being a committed student and participating in sports and athletic programs year round, he is busier than the average high school senior.

One way he has chosen to remain a pure person in his busy teenage life is by not swearing in any circumstances. Not only is this helpful in maintaining his true-to-self-image, it’s also beneficial to keeping up on his religious values. Harris has grown up in an environment where much is expected from him and he has to, in a way, achieve perfection or he won’t feel like he has accomplished everything within his potential. As an IB student, he is faced with a heavy class load on top of being engaged in multiple athletic programs. There are many late nights spent working on assignments where many people would resort to swearing in an effort to alleviate some of the pressure. For Harris, the solution is to avoid that altogether and work harder instead.

Harris’ academic commitment reflects how determined he is to keep his priorities straight. He hopes to go to an in-state university after graduating high school.

With separated parents, it has become increasingly difficult for Harris to hold on to the two cultural backgrounds that infiltrate him as an individual. With a Japanese mother and a white father exposing him to two very different sides of his culture, he has made it a point in his life to remember both sides and make an effort to incorporate both into his life as much as possible. In his social life, his friends will refer to him as either Ethan or Shinjin and he responds to both equally.

“There was kind of a split between being the true person I want to be and having what felt like two separate parents after they split up. It’s hard to see how I can show myself in a different light, as two different people,” Harris said. “I’ve learned to just adapt to situations.”
In past years, Harris hasn’t exactly considered himself a social butterfly. For the majority of his life he preferred to be more reserved in social situations rather than being in the middle of the action. Though he still considers himself as more of an “observer”, he has begun to have a larger role in situations by playing off of social cues and reacting based on the actions of others.
“It’s kind of a weird definition to think of yourself as a true person but then adapting to every situation. I’ve taken that as how I am, an observer,” Harris said.

Though he considers himself as more standoffish, many people consider him a leader. As a busy student who thrives in his schooling, he is the epitome of what any high school student wishes they could be or wishes they had the motivation to be.

Aside from his packed schedule, he spends most of his time after school doing extracurricular activities. He is a captain of the wrestling team and one of the team members who has had the best season so far this year. He has made a big impact on the success of the team this season. The team has matches on Thursday nights and for the next couple weeks, the games against Woods Cross, Clearfield, and Bountiful will have a large impact on determining the region championship match.