High school is, if nothing else, a time for growth, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a teenager more cognizant of and intentional with that growth than Matt ’26. A poet and budding philosopher, Matt is happiest when wrestling with new skills and ideas. He embraces challenges, the chance to work harder, because it means he’s growing—even if that growth isn’t linear, isn’t obvious, and isn’t in the classroom. Take a moment to get to know this senior from Dedham, then follow his tips to know yourself. 

Getting to Know You

What is bringing you joy right now?

Honestly, just learning and growing as a person in general is bringing me the most joy. If there was a close second, it'd be something outside of school. I've been playing a lot of Marvel Rivals. I play tennis on the weekends. I started doing photography again. 

I write poetry a lot; I've found that to be a really good use of my time. My poetic influences come from everywhere. I tend to document my own personal discoveries, whether they be in politics or in English. Maybe the greater theme is philosophical concepts I've learned about myself… 

What is your favorite book (or a book you’ve re-read)?

My favorite book of all time is probably Flowers for Algernon. It’s the only book that's made me cry. And as for other books I’ve enjoyed, I thought Animal Farm was a good critique of politics. I also really want to read 1984.

What are your favorite comfort foods?

Penne with grilled chicken and sauce on the side is probably my favorite thing.

What was/is your favorite class (at Commonwealth or elsewhere)?

Right now, my favorite class is probably U.S. Politics and Policy. I just like the debate atmosphere. Everyone is there because they chose to be in that class, because it’s an elective. So it's a class full of engaged people.

What do you think is the most intriguing paradox? 

The Ship of Theseus is one of my favorites. Also, the Bootstrap Paradox: if you go back in time, can you give yourself a manual to build the time machine? I think that’s pretty interesting as well.

When do you feel the most enjoyably challenged?

When I'm taking steps on my own to learn new things. Like, I've been doing a lot of research into philosophy; that's when I've been most enjoyably challenged recently. And in a lot of my classes here; I feel like my teachers do a good job of challenging us and making it fun.

What never fails to make you laugh?

Just being around my friends—though maybe that’s just human connection. 

What are people most surprised to learn about you?

I feel like there are a lot of things that I'm interested in that I don't exactly share that might be surprising to some people who have known me for a long time. But I like this question, because I think it's really interesting for people to look past how they present themselves to the world.

Fall, winter, spring, or summer?

Honestly, winter is my favorite season. I know it's weird. Everyone's like, Oh, summer's the best! But I'm a winter person. Drinking cocoa. Tubing. Sledding. When I was younger, I had this really good sled, but then I went off a big jump and it broke. That was a really sad moment. I still remember it vividly.

Life as a Commonwealth Student (and Beyond)

What was your first impression of Commonwealth and how has it mapped to your experience?

I mean, I came to the school knowing it was going to be very challenging. And, boy, I was not surprised. I did pretty well in middle school, and when my mom was telling me about Commonwealth, she was like, “You know, you're not gonna be the best there. You're gonna be with people who are the best of the best from everywhere.” I didn't really take that into account until I actually came here in ninth grade and saw how everyone's so academically focused. I've come to enjoy it in these last couple of years, but that was certainly a difficult thing for me to understand in the beginning.

Using metrics besides grades, how do you define “success” in your classes?

I want to make sure I understand what's going on in all my classes and I’m up to date with all the readings, but I’d still use grades to measure my learning. The only reason I really care about grades is because they signify improvement to me. Like, going from a B+ to an A- shows that I'm able to grasp the material better or I've worked harder than I previously had to.

When do you feel most connected to other students (or teachers/staff members) in our community?

When I'm just able to have face-to-face conversations. In tenth grade, I kind of isolated myself from teachers and faculty here. I felt like I was sinking a little bit. I didn't know how to help myself and figure out how to adapt and be successful. But I started weekly meetings with some of my teachers, and I realized that talking with people and taking my own steps to improve was really what was going to help me with those issues.

How has your Commonwealth experience colored the way you look at the world? How you plan for your future?

There's this mentality that you have to be the best, you have to be the smartest—I mean, that's a kind of currency at this school and at most schools in general. I think that's a little bit at odds with the real world, and that difference has really shaped who I am, to be honest. I’m trying to be the best version of myself in all facets of my life, not just academics.

What’s your advice for other students working to become the best versions of themselves? 

No one's perfect. No one will ever be perfect. Everyone's quite far from it. But if you take steps in the right direction—to what makes you happy, what you care about, what you enjoy doing—you should follow that path, not at the cost of anything else, but just because you want to. Take time out of things that you know you shouldn't be doing and put them into areas where you know you could be a better version of yourself. I certainly haven’t always done that. I've made a lot of mistakes, but they’ve helped me see that there are ways to be better. There are ways to improve myself. There's no reason why you should think worse of yourself if you've made mistakes. Don’t get lost in the details of what’s happened in your past. Just keep going. That's really helped me.

Meet More Commonwealth Students