Lonnie Easterling
If eighty percent of life is showing up, someone owes Lonnie Easterling dinner.
When Easterling received his diploma from White Station High School in June, he completed 13 years of perfect attendance. Not since his first day of kindergarten (in August 2007 at Richland Elementary) did Easterling miss a day of school. He became the first White Station senior in 17 years to register an unblemished attendance record.
Perfect attendance in kindergarten, alone, would have been an achievement. How young were you when you recognized attendance — every day, rain or shine — was a priority?
I remember in elementary school it mattered a lot to me, or rather the aspect of missing a day of school scared me. I’m not sure if they do this anymore, but my school would always hand out these ribbons with report cards if you had perfect attendance that quarter as well as goodie bags for anyone who was able to maintain that all year. I suppose I really just did not want to miss out on that for whatever reason.
The event that had me consider it more was at my 5th-grade graduation. They were sure to recognize it there too, and it was only me and one other student, which made it feel quite special in my little brain. That’s when other people took notice and would ask me about it from time to time. An occasional “Have you really not missed a day??” every now and then whenever it so happened to be brought up, which I believe definitely helped with me trying to keep my record, keeping that expectation and conversation piece.
Are you generally a creature of habit? Do you like routine?
I am very much a creature of habit. A lot of what I’ll do will eventually turn into a routine whether I like it or not. I often find myself quite busy with numerous different tasks, so it’s probably just my mind’s way of handling that balancing act so as to not be so confusing or stressing. Regardless, I would just consider myself a person that likes organization, and over time you learn certain dispositions that at least make you seem more efficient.
What’s the closest you came to missing a day of school?
Believe it or not, there were actually quite a few. Of course, like anybody, there were a number of days where I just really did not want to go to school. Some instances where I felt under the weather, but never bad enough to stay home, or even some appointments that came close to me having to miss a day. There was a trip to Chicago that my aunt and uncle went on with my siblings during elementary school, and I vividly remember staying home from that. I believe I had one of those Kiwanis “Terrific Kid” ceremonies at the time, but if it wasn’t for that, I’m not sure I would’ve stayed at the time.
Share some tips on staying healthy — both physically and mentally — for the rigors of a school year.
I think this is the biggest misconception when people hear about my perfect attendance. I'm by no stretch of the imagination the healthiest guy physically or mentally. There were times I was not feeling great in the slightest, but nothing that was enough to keep me from school, so if anything, I would say I'm more fortunate than healthy. However, I'm not preaching to go to school when you're sick, far from it (especially right now). I suppose that is my advice: know your limits, mentally and physically. Don't force yourself to go to school. If you're really that sick, it's going to be debilitating for you and will only harm you and your fellow peers. That goes for your mental health too; know how much you’re able to handle. There’s only so many all-nighters and outside stress one can take.
Do you know the name Cal Ripken Jr? (He’s a baseball player who didn’t miss a game for 16 years.) Considering you’re the first Spartan senior to have perfect attendance in 17 years, it would seem you’re White Station’s Cal Ripken. Were your classmates aware of this 13-year achievement?
Oh I’m not too much into sports, but I’ll happily take such a title. As for the awareness of this achievement, it wasn’t terribly widespread. I told it to some teachers that brought up something about attendance, and some friends and folks I knew. Although many times I’d have someone approach me who I wasn’t too familiar with and ask , “Hey, aren’t you the kid who hasn’t missed a day?” or “Have you missed a day yet?”
There’s sad irony to your final year in this remarkable streak, as schools had to shut down in March because of the pandemic. Any advice or thoughts on how to handle such a global interruption?
As I said previously, I’m by no means the model of health, so any advice that I have to offer is not going to be the kind many others haven’t heard before. It’s all about doing your part. Doing your part to be educated, stay healthy, and protect others. DO stay home if you’re sick, perfect-attendance record or not. I will say, though, from personal experience, the world can be quite overwhelming right now, so staying healthy also involves mental health too. Keep yourself occupied, stay in touch with friends, and some days maybe lay off the news if it’s really hurting your headspace. The aforementioned personal limit we all have.
What was your favorite subject in school, and what are your plans for the future?
I’m not particularly sure, honestly! I’m very much into art, but I’m not exactly sure if that’s the “core” subject you were looking for. Besides that, I’ve always seemed to enjoy a math class centered around algebra and a lot of the aspects of many English classes.
As for the future, I’m planning on attending the University of Memphis for the fall semester this year. I’m going in undecided, but plan on majoring in something involving computer science and minoring in a subject that will aid me in my artistic ventures.