We met them in 2014 as kindergartners: Six youths from Hood River County who are now in the eighth grade. Each fall, we get to talk with them again: Jess Aubert of Parkdale, Diego Bustos of Hood River, Jaden Evans of Cascade Locks, Jack Miller of Hood River, Sofia Rodriguez of Odell and Nicholas Tuttle of Hood River.
How we did the interviews this year
For the first time since Tracks started in 2014, all six students were interviewed on the same day, Nov. 2, at Hood River and Wy’east middle schools. Everyone was masked up and seated either outside or at a safe distance. In 2020, most of the interviews were by phone or email, due to pandemic concerns.
I made the trip to Hood River County just to see the Tracksters. In April, I moved to McMinnville, where I began a new job as managing editor of the News-Register newspaper. I am grateful to the Columbia Gorge News for continuing the series, and for granting me the opportunity to see the students each year; in 2022 and beyond, it will be my pleasure to remain involved in the Tracks to ’26 tradition.
We first met Diego, Jack, Jaden, Jess, Nicholas, and Sofia in the spring of 2014, then-Kindergartners who agreed, with their parents, to a 13-year project with the then-Hood River News. That was seven and a half years ago; the first full interviews were published in the fall of 2014 when the sextet were in first grade.
It amazes me to think we are far closer to the annual project’s conclusion than to its beginning. It is humbling to consider that the youngsters will be high school students next year.
Further, I’d become used to occasional encounters with the Tracksters; however, living outside of Hood River County for the last nine months, I’ve missed those serendipitous encounters (albeit rare since the pandemic) as we went about our lives: Sofia Rodriguez in folklorica dancing, Nicholas Tuttle on the pitching mound, or Jaden Evans tumbling in gym class.
A milestone in 2021: For the first time, one of the students is taller than me. That’s Diego Bustos — and Jack Miller will likely reach that (I’m just shy of 6 feet) in 2022 when we meet again, and the others will come close.
The students are 14 or within weeks of their 14th birthdays. In their answers this year, any changes in perspectives and life circumstances compared to their November 2020 comments appear to be mostly subtle, with the exception of Jaden; in past articles, he was identified as Trinity. Jaden, who attends Hood River Middle School, made the decision this year to transition from female to male, and with that has chosen a new first name, and pronouns he/him.
Asked what challenged him, Jaden echoed his response from 2020, when he said, “School. Keeping up with homework and stuff. I try to set reminders to myself, on my phone.”
In the same vein Diego answered a year ago with, “Focusing on school. Sometimes I just turn my phone off so I don’t use it.”
Sofia of Wy’east answered this way the question of what challenges her: “Being able to stay connected with people through the way we’re learning and not being able to talk to as many people, even at school. Figuring out how to upload something on an assignment.”
All the students expressed contentment at being back in in-person learning, and frustration at social distancing and other limits to direct contact with friends.
“I don’t like being home all the time right now because of COVID,” Hood River’s Nicholas Tuttle said in 2020.
But they proved adaptable; Jack of Hood River talked in 2020 of how he dealt with the pandemic, saying, “I go to the skateboard park a lot, when it’s dry out. I’ve been riding the skateboard a year. My friends started skating, so.”
Jess Aubert of Wy’east, always one of the more loquacious Tracksters, showed a bit of prescience in 2020 when he was asked what he thought about the future:
“They came out with the vaccine for the corona (virus) but they haven’t come out with one for kids. The COVID is different, apparently, for kids, but they came out with one for high-risk people so I think it’s going to be good and I think it’s going to end if everyone stays safe.”
Jaden, who attends Hood River Middle School, has made the decision to transition from female to male.
When asked about his transition he said, “I’m not sure what to say about it. I haven’t talked that much about it. It’s feeling good,” he said. “I have allies. I feel very supported.”
CGN: Transition — is that the right word, would you call it that?
CGN: What’s been challenging for you about that?
JE: “Going to see family that I haven’t really come out to yet, like family gatherings or just going out in public in general, really, trying to pass, well — to pass as a man.”
CGN: It must have been quite a decision to make. Was there a moment when you said, ‘I’m going to come out. I’m going to be Jaden”?
JE: “I did it, I think, in September of last year. I wasn’t quite ready, but it was kind of an accidental thing, I think I said something and then my Mom found out about it and we ended up talking about it.”
CGN: Tell me about the name Jaden.
JE: “I don’t really know where it came from. I just heard about it and thought it sounded cool.”
What’s your life been like in the past year with the changes with the pandemic, with school and life in general?
JE: “It was quite a big change from doing in person school to online and in-person, it was kind of hard to adjust, but I’m getting used to it. It feels normal now, I feel like we’ve been doing it for a while.”
What’s a good thing that happened to you today or recently?
JE: “Halloween was pretty fun. I went out with two of my friends and we stayed the night at one of my friend’s house. We dyed our hair, obviously (pointing to his blue-tinted hairdo.) It was fun. I was a zombie.”
What is something new you have learned recently?
JE: “You don’t have to care what people think. Just do what you want to do.”
What’s a challenge for you these days?
JE: “Besides what I’ve already talked about, there’s not many other challenges.”
What are things you enjoy doing?
JE: “I like to hang out with my friends, to go out and walk around town and just be teenagers. We walk around and do stupid things. We don’t get into trouble — much — but, yeah … It might happen. It hasn’t happened yet (laughs). I like mountain biking. I have a bike but it broke. I find a trail that seems fun and I just ride it.”
What books are you reading, music or television you’re listening to and watching, or other media that have your attention these days?
JE: “I listen to a lot of music, like a lot of ‘80s, ‘90s, early 2000s bands I listen to, like punk rock. Five Seconds of Summer is one.”
What do you want to do after you graduate?
JE: “I’m still not sure. I’m starting to get more into photography and I’m thinking of taking photography classes in high school and maybe college.”
What do you think about the future?
JE:”I don’t really think about the future a whole lot, honestly, but I’m kind of excited to see what’s coming.”
What’s your life been like in the past year, with continued COVID restrictions?…
DB: “It’s been good. I don’t really like wearing a mask that much. It’s the same. Except for school. It’s good. I like it more than online. I never liked online school.”
What’s a good thing that’s happened to you recently?
DB: “Basketball practice. It’s going good. We’re having our first game tomorrow. We only have 12 players from eighth grade.”
What’s something new you’ve learned?
DB: “Compound inequalities. I just learned it in my algebra class.”
What’s a challenge to you these days?
DB: “Nothing. Uh, school sometimes, like remembering to turn in things, even when I’ve done them. One was a chapter one and two summary (“The Outsiders”), and I forgot to bring it.”
What things do you like to do?
“Playing football and hanging out with friends and basketball.”
What books are you reading, music or television you’re listening to and watching, or other media that have your attention these days?
DB: “I like watching YouTube sometimes.”
What do you want to do after you graduate?
DB: “College football. University of Oregon.”
What do you think about the future?
DB: “I don’t know. I don’t think about it that much.”
What’s your life been like in the past year, with continued COVID restrictions?…
JM: “Good. Pretty normal, other than the masks and everything.”
What’s a good thing that happened to you recently?
JM: “We won our football game against Wy’east two weeks ago.” (A defensive lineman, when asked if he did something in particular in the game, Jack said “No.”)
What are things you have learned?
JM: “All the moon phases, how many there are. Waxing is getting bigger, waning is getting smaller. It was a long part of class, like, a month. At the end we did a project with Oreos. We made the moon phases out of Oreos.”
What’s a challenge for you?
JM: “Probably writing essays and stuff. I’ve never been good at that. I try writing more at home and at school.”
What things do you enjoy doing?
JM: “Biking a lot, skateboarding and football, and video games. Lots of kinds.”
What books are you reading, music or television you’re listening to and watching, or other media that have your attention these days?
JM: “I’ll probably watch football or if there’s baseball.”
What do you want to do after you graduate?
JM: “Football, definitely, at Oregon, probably defensive lineman.”
What do you think about the future?
JM: “What high school will be like. I don’t really know.”
What’s your life been like in the past year, with continued COVID restrictions?…
NT: “The masks, I don’t like the masks at all, I’m not worried about getting COVID.”
What’s a good thing that’s happened to you recently?
NT: “In football we just went undefeated. We’re going to get a banner in the gym. We haven’t been undefeated since 2008.”
What’s something new you learned recently?
NT: “In Language Arts we’re reading the book ‘The Outsiders,’ it’s a good book, it’s interesting. Some 14-year-olds don’t have as good a life as other 14-year-olds.”
What things do you enjoy doing?
NT: “Football and basketball, I usually go to the high school and hang out with friends and play tag, or hide-and go-seek, at the basketball court. We moved to Country Club Road in December (2020). This week we start playing baseball again, probably at the high school in the (Lions/Bob Thoman) building.”
What’s a challenge for you these days?
NT: “Reading has always been a challenge for me, because I’m dyslexic. It’s going a little better, but it’s still a struggle. When I’m reading sometimes the word is mixed up or it’s backwards. Not always, sometimes it just comes up. Sometimes I have to memorize the word.”
What books are you reading, music or television you’re listening to and watching, or other media that have your attention these days?
NT: “Sometimes I play on my PlayStation 4 with friends. I go home and sit on the couch and watch football with my dad.”
What do you want to do after you graduate?
NT: “I kinda want to be an electrician … football player. You have to sometimes do math and I’m good at math.”
What do you think of the future?
NT: “Normal life. I don’t really think about it that much. Hopefully this COVID stuff, like all the masks will be over.”
What’s your life been like in the past year, with continued COVID restrictions?…
SR: “Obviously very different but a lot more of stay at home and not go out as frequently, but it’s been like that for a while. I would say I’m more used to it but it’s still like a bummer to remember, ‘I can’t do that.’”
What’s a good thing that happened to you recently?
SR: “Getting to see my friends. Yesterday I missed school so I had four days off. And my nephew spent the night at my house. That was good.”
What’s something you’ve recently learned?
SR: “Probably something in math, like functions. It’s so interesting to me. In the moment I don’t understand it but once I do it’s fun. Learning that school work can be fun as well. I used to be ‘it’s school work I have to do,’ but recently it’s something I’ve enjoyed doing.”
What’s a challenge for you these days?
SR: “One thing that has been standing out is not being able to interact with my peers as much as I used to be able to. I can, but it’s kinda different, because before we used to be able to walk around the school or classroom and talk to whoever we want but this year it’s stay at your table because of COVID.”
What things do you enjoy doing?
SR: “I like spending time with family. It’s been happening a lot more since we can’t do much, and we’re all kind of stuck at home. Hanging out with my brothers I would say is the time I have the best time. I like painting. Last year I said that and it was something new. I just draw whatever and then paint it. I try to do shading. It doesn’t work, but I don’t quit!”
What do you want to do after you graduate?
SR: “I’m not sure exactly what job I want but I know I want to do something in the field of psychology. I find a lot of interest in what the school counselor does, and I think that’s really interesting. I feel like helping people. I tell people that and they’re like, ‘You’re going to be in school for a long time.’ I’m like ‘yeah!’”
What books are you reading, music or television you’re listening to and watching, or other media that have your attention these days?
“There’s this book called ‘The Great Gatsby.’ I really like it. I don’t understand most of the words, but something I like about it is I wrote the words down and looked up the definition and it expands my vocabulary. I like that it’s something completely different.”
What’s your life been like in the past year, with continued COVID restrictions?…
JA: “I spent way too much time with my brother (Gage). I didn’t get to see any friends, I barely got to see my cousins or anything.
“I got braces. They took me out of Maker, woodshop, to put on my braces. It wasn’t fun. They make my teeth hurt, a little bit sometimes.”
What’s a good thing that’s happened to you recently?
JA: “On Halloween I had to get a bag because my bucket was overflowing. I had to ask some random person for a bag. It was in Parkdale, we were going to doors with friends.”
What’s something you’ve learned lately?
JA: “About center of dilations, in math, like a week ago.” (As a process of calculating scale, dilation is defined as “a transformation that produces an image that is the same shape as the original, but in a different size.”)
“It’s on paper, a graph. I don’t really know why we’re learning it. We’re just learning it. I don’t feel like I’ll use it in real life, but maybe I will.”
What’s a challenge to you?
JA: “Not arguing with my brother, because sometimes he’s just really annoying. My parents don’t like it if we argue. We get things taken away if we do. But, proving a point, I’m right and he’s wrong.” (Asked about the “sweet spot” between proving a point and not getting in trouble, Jess said, “Going outside.”)
What things do you enjoy doing?
JA: “Am I allowed to talk about an airsoft gun? I got an airsoft gun and I’ve already run out of ammo. It’s like a gun, like a Nerf gun but it shoots little plastic BBs and it’s a lot more powerful than a Nerf gun and it’s like an M14. I destroyed a box, practically cut it in half. For my birthday party I’ll have some friends over and play airsoft gun in the woods. That could be fun. Or capture the flag, could be fun.”
What do you want to do after you graduate?
JA: “Probably a firefighting helicopter pilot. I’m probably going to go in the Army to learn how to fly. It just seems fun to fly and get paid to do it.”
What books are you reading, music or television you’re listening to and watching, or other media that have your attention these days?
JA: “Cars. I like cars. There’s a game on Xbox called Forza Horizon 4, you can race cars and buy and sell cars.”
What do you think about the future?
JA: “I hope COVID ends, probably go back to normal.”
Commented