Millennials are labeled as a generation of self-absorbed, technology addicted citizens, but stereotypes don’t always apply. Senior Sam Opersteny isn’t interested in the latest app or song on Billboard’s top 100 list, instead he enjoys spending time outdoors working with his hands and doing other things not typically associated with teenagers.
Sam is the quiet kid in class. He is the one who is never on his phone. He just sits at his desk working without the distraction so many other students find in their hands: a cell phone.
“I don’t have social media and I don’t have Netflix on my phone, but if I did, I wouldn’t know what movies to watch or what games to play,” Sam said. “I don’t listen to music either. When I get into my car I just turn on NPR (National Public Radio) so I can listen to the news.”
Though Sam doesn’t use his phone like most students, he doesn’t find anything wrong with other students being on theirs.
“I just think other students can multitask very well,” Sam said. “I can’t because it will distract me from school work and other things that I think are important so I try to avoid it.”
Students also acknowledge the fact that Sam is never on his phone.
“I think it’s weird how Sam never uses his phone for anything in class,” senior Dominic Wyatt said. “Everyone does, but he’s a unique, funny dude.”
Though Sam doesn’t use his phone in school, that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t use it at all, but uses it for different things that most teens don’t use theirs for.
“When I do use my phone, I look at KBTX, text family, watch baseball, and look up trees and plants,” Sam said. “I’m interested in learning about things around me, like nature.”
Sam plays baseball in his free time, and enjoys it, because he’s played it since he was a young boy.
“I’ve played baseball for ten years,” Sam said. “I am a pitcher. My dad put me in baseball when I was seven, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
Other teammates enjoy playing with Sam on the field, and watching him grow as a player throughout high school.
“I’ve played with Sam since our freshman year,” Dominic said. “I enjoy Sam as a teammate. He’s really good on the mound.”
Sam wants to pursue a career in agriculture, because his family has done it for generations and he enjoys farming with his dad.
“My ancestors were farmers and I want to keep it going,” Sam said. “We grow a variety of things including peppers, and we raise cows and sell them.”
Sam’s dad has taught him more than the family business, he also taught him how to ride a unicycle.
“I ride my unicycle like once a week,” Sam said. “My dad rode one and told me I should too, and that’s when I learned. I can ride with my hands in my pockets now. People driving down my street look, but I think it’s fun, you don’t really see that everyday.”
In many teenagers free time they like to hang out with friends, go to the movies, or go out, but for Sam it’s completely different. Though many teens don’t do the same things, people find Sam interesting, because of his good natured personality and his unique hobbies.
“I like to plant things, play baseball, and ride my dirtbike,” Sam said. “I’ve never been to common places most people have been, like the mall, Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, Wendy’s, Jack-in-the-Box, Burger King, Roadhouse, Canes, or even the carnival. My family just goes to the grocery store instead of eating out, but when we do go out to dinner we always go to Longhorn Tavern, and I never order fries because I find them boring.”
