Senior Kyle Hart may not have his driver’s license yet, but he doesn’t let that hold him back from his goals (even if he requires an assist from his family once in a while).

“It’s not really affected me because my parents, usually at least one of them, or my grandma, are always available to take me or pick me up wherever I need to go,” Hart shares.

In terms of his time at Arvada West, Hart has mainly made his mark through bowling. He shares, “I did tennis for two years, didn’t really enjoy that, and I’ve been on the bowling team for three years.” While tennis may not have been the sport for him, he states, “I like bowling because it’s something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. I feel like I’m talented at it because I’ve spent 11 years of my life just doing it.” 

Hart has not only found a passion for bowling, he has found a potential career path; he explains that in terms of what he wants to do post graduation, “Either professional bowling or Youtuber.” He adds that he would enjoy the chance to “bowl for money.” 

This might seem like an outlandish goal, considering that, according to Bleacher Report, “less than 1 percent of the overall population plays professional sports;” however, Hart shares that  “every year I’ve done bowling I’ve qualified for state.”

Hart explains, “We did not make the cut for teams the first year we made it to state so we lost in the first round. Last year for state I almost made the cut for individuals but I lost because I had a bad game in there which lost me a few pins.” And while Hart hasn’t secured qualification yet this year, he states, “I’m most likely going to qualify for individual (bowling).”

If bowling does not work out, Hart is also considering becoming a professional Youtuber, mainly focusing on Nintendo games. Either way, he is certain about one thing: “I am not going to college…I do not like school, therefore I am not going to go to college.” He adds that, in terms of life after high school,  “I am probably going to make a plan either early January or early February.”

While Hart’s laid-back attitude may be off-putting to some, he has been extremely successful in finding where he “fits in” at Arvada West. He shares, “I’ve just found a group of people that I connect with.”

He further adds, “I found some people that I was friends with in middle school and from there we made a group of friends based on people we gelled with and stuff, especially stuff he liked to do because he’s more of the talker and I’m more of the listener.

While Hart has enjoyed some aspects of high school, workload is not something he’s particularly fond of. He states that the negatives of high school mainly have to do with “having a lot of assignments from different teachers due either on the same day or on the same week and having to do like 900 pages of homework each night.”

Despite this, Hart shares, “I don’t usually find it hard (to keep up) because especially after the whole online learning thing teachers have made a bunch of digital in-class things that if you don’t finish they become homework, therefore they’ve given us time to do it, meaning I have a lot more time to do what I want to do.” 

Additionally, Hart details his strategy for not falling behind, elaborating that, ‘I allot myself an hour out of the day to do any homework I need to complete, and then anytime after that is when I can use my free time if my homework is completed in that hour.”

This has worked well for Hart, as he shares, “I have achieved some academic prowess since I’d never usually been on the honor roll but the last three years I have been on the honor roll, and I’m hoping that this ends up bringing me into a more productive state.” 

However, while Hart has been fairly successful in high school, he is ready to graduate. “I’m looking forward to being able to do a job that I actually enjoy doing instead of just doing what I’m required to do. I can actually pick what I want to do, versus ‘you have to do this by this date,” he explains.

Hart plans to stay in Colorado, as “that’s what I know and I’m not the kind of person who wants to find everything new again, so I already know Colorado and I know where things are versus moving to, say, Nebraska where I’ve never been before and having to learn where everything is again and stuff.” 

This will be a lot easier “once I get my driver’s license, which I don’t currently have.”  Hart shares, “I’ll probably be more willing to do a job because I won’t have to have my parents drive me everywhere, and I can drive there without needing them to be available.”

As the year winds down and Hart reflects on his high school years, he singles out one piece of advice he would give to other students, stating, “Make sure you do your work ahead of time instead of waiting for the day it’s due or the class period it’s due to work on it so that you can have a better chance of getting the best grade possible instead of just a crappy pulled together “did this on the fly” grade. 

He also looks to the growth he’s made, sharing that, “I’ve grown because when I first started high-school I wasn’t very good at turning my work in on time or well-done when I did turn it in, and I still want to work on trying to slow down and take my time so I can make sure I get the best score possible instead of just rushing to complete it.”

While Hart may not have his future completely planned out, he is choosing to focus on the person he is today – and that is perhaps even more important.