By Lizbeth Perez, Staff Writer
It would just be a house if there was no family. Families can create an environment of comfort, unconditional love, a judgement free zone, and they can have more of an influence on a person’s life than anything else. For some, family is their source of motivation.
Junior Ryan Schuessler has his whole life planned out and in focus because of his family. His family is the reason behind everything he strives for.
Chess is a sport to Schuessler, but instead of competing with physical movements, he competes with his brain, knowing where and when to move the right pieces, and finishing his opponent off with two simple words, “Check mate.” But this passion for chess didn’t pop up out of nowhere, Schuessler’s dad helped create the chess guru that he is today.
“When I first started playing chess, it was with my dad. Even though I didn’t understand the concept of how the pieces worked, I still enjoyed playing with him, because in a way, we connected. We didn’t start playing until we watched a movie on Bobby Fischer, and that’s when I officially got really into it. It became competitive and I started playing with other people,” Schuessler said.
The more he learns and continues to be involved with chess, the more he wants to make of it.
“I want to get more organized and have a structured schedule, like every Wednesday or something, where we can practice after school in the library. I want to make it more structured like an actual extra-curricular activity,” Schuessler said.
Chess is just one result of his family’s motivation, and being a scholastic student is an every day goal for him.
“Taking AP classes is huge as well. I never thought I’d be doing that. I took Pre-AP, but I never thought I’d be taking AP classes. I also finished my first semester of PreCalculus, which is college Algebra, and I got an A on that, so thats a huge accomplishment for me,” Schuessler said.
But even as prepared and ready as he might seem to take on the hardest situations at school, he still struggles with the same problems that many high school students have.
“I procrastinate a lot. It’s ridiculous. If it’s an essay due on Friday, and it’s a Monday, I’ll literally put it off each and every day and then do it Thursday night, which is ridiculous,” Schuessler said.
This minor setback doesn’t stop him from continuing to push harder and move forward.
“I want to continue taking advanced math and English, organize the chess club, get into college and get my life plans in ship-shape,” Schuessler said.
But Ryan doesn’t want to stop in only helping himself, he also hopes to one day help other people.
“I want to be a dietitian. I want to work with other people and help them improve their health. I think that’s what I am truly passionate about, just helping people, especially health-wise. The United States isn’t the healthiest country out there,” Schuessler said.
If his goal of helping people out isn’t enough, Schuessler hopes to make the environment a bit safer for his fellow beings in it by choosing to pursue a vegan lifestyle.
“Gary Roski is a YouTuber that advocates Veganism, and he got me into the whole movement and caring about others before caring about myself. Before all that, it was all about me, but now he opened my eyes to see what’s true and what’s not,” Schuessler said.
All of the positivity and productivity that come from Schuessler come from the source and the foundation that makes it work, communication with his family.
“My whole week is extremely repetitive, so I guess the ending, where I go home and see my brother and sister, there always something special. There’s always something new with them compared to school being the same repetitive cycle over and over,” Schuessler said