“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Senior Telmuun Baasansuren, our Cy Springs social buttery, has had his own fair share of missed
opportunities and what ifs. Now, as he’s diving into a new chapter of life as he prepares to go to college,
Baasansuren strives to truly embrace living in the moment and taking the initiative to plant trees of his
own.
“High school is fun and all,” Baasansuren said. “But sometimes we need to slow down, appreciate the
blessings, and try to do something unique and worthwhile.”
As a child, Baasansuren admits that he used to breeze through life sitting in the background. He
didn’t try to put himself out there and that’s when he ultimately decided to change his mindset.
“In elementary I was practically an introverted npc,” Baasansuren said. “I decided to take more initiative moving forward in my life because looking back, I don’t want to have anymore regrets.”
This is where Baasansuren developed his life motto, “just go do it.” By pushing himself out of his comfort zone to take initiative, Baasansuren became a member of Science Olympiad, Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, and Academic UIL. In addition, he’s also the secretary of French Club and has been a semifinalist in NASA Hunch.
“I’ve always aimed to do something unique with my life,” he said. “I want to do something I haven’t done before and that’s where French Club falls into this because I never thought I would join something like that and now I’m the secretary.”
Besides taking initiative in academics, competitions, and extracurriculars, Baasansuren has also made the effort to grow new relationships every day.
“Sometimes I pop in and say hi to random people,” he said. “I want to take the first step and do something unique by saying hi or complimenting another person.”
Baasansuren’s social qualities are also what drives his ideologies. If he could run the world, Baasansuren said he would want to help build gathering places to foster a sense of community.
“These days, people don’t have the opportunity to get out because they only go from school or work to home,” he said. “I want people to branch out their horizons so I want to build a place where people could meet new people and have more joy.”
The advice he would give the pre-k student inheriting his S number after he graduates, is just “go do it.”
“I want them to embrace each day to the fullest with a new hopeful outlook,” Baasansuren said, “I don’t want them going into each new day thinking negatively or why their day is going to end up bad when there’s so many things to be grateful for.”
Diving into that, Baasansuren said he is most grateful for the family that showed him unconditional love and support that drove him to become the quirky and determined social buttery that he is today.
“I could credit them for everything,” he said. “My parents gave me the opportunity to be here and they’re the reason why I’m able to do what I can do and appreciate each day to the fullest myself.”
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. His favorite quote is what he embodies as a person. With every initiative to move past regrets and to take new opportunities, Baasansuren is sure to plant a tree with every person he greets, every place he goes, and every chance he takes to be himself.
