“Failure is the beginning of success” is his favorite quote.
Graydon Hanson, better known by his nickname “Grady”, is a full-time student at MHS. Born in South Dakota, his favorite color is aqua blue. He also enjoys sushi from a restaurant called Sake. One of his most memorable moments was when he and his friends cooked chicken noodle soup at a summer camp at midnight.
Graydon finds math and game theory easy, reflected in the way he spends his free time playing video games and creating board games; he also plans to create video games. In turn, reflecting his proficiency in math and his love of logic puzzles, his favorite subject is math. His fascination with logic and math is such that he thinks pens would be an indispensable item in his life, since he has thoughts to remember. When asked if he had a YouTube channel, what would it be about? He replied that it would be about playing and analyzing video games.
Graydon told us that he likes the book Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, and recommends reading the entire novel series The Stormlight Archive by the same author. He also likes the film Ready Player One by director Steven Spielberg and the web series Mau Makan Apa by Indonesian artist Labirhin. Graydon was asked which fictional character he would like to be and which fictional character best describes him. He answered both questions with the character Kaladin Stormblessed from The Stormlight Archives, who has the ability to control gravity and uses it to protect his friends and his morals. Interestingly, he has commented that if he had any superpower, it would be the power to create portals, due to the possibility of creating infinite energy and traveling to other places, including other planets.
Graydon has expressed that he would like to live in Singapore, due to its cultural mix and green architecture. In fact, visiting Singapore is one of his dreams before he dies, along with making a video game and working for a rocketry company. Grady likes to listen to "drum and bass, breakcore, and electronic dance music." Something unusual people don't know about him is that there's always music in his head, and it's impossible to stop it.
Graydon was asked what his greatest existential fear was, and he replied, "The fact that most questions won't have answers." He then said his greatest fear is heights and depths. He was also asked about his favorite philosopher, to which he replied, "Jean-Jacques Rousseau."
If he had five million dollars to spend, he would use part of it to invest in Alzheimer's research and the other part on personal investments. He plans to go to college to study metallurgical engineering after school, projecting himself in ten years as someone who has managed to accomplish all his creative projects, maintaining a work-life balance.
Graydon's advice for incoming freshmen, to which he replied, “Don't spread yourself thin.”