By Milan Nguyen
Teenagers are increasingly active in their school activities and often go out of their way to participate in activities that require both commitment and dedication, more than many adults give them credit for.
Members of the marching band, for instance, often take a zero period to be able to be on the band as well as having practice after school and on Saturday’s. The work doesn’t end there, members of the Marching Band have to practice their instruments at home as well.
Freshman Xol Torres has the added pressure of preparing for the Science Team as well as being on the marching band. Even with the many commitments that he has to make, Torres continues to do these activities because he is passionate about both music and science.
“Marching band has taught me to be humble and to appreciate others’ teachings in regards to the drum majors and my section leaders. I have also learned that you need to be more efficient when you are working alone from being in the science team,” Torres said.
People often learn valuable lessons from participating in an activity that can apply to life outside of school and to life as an adult. Even so, there are students who are go above and beyond to participate in school activities, regardless of the benefits that the activity may have on their transcripts.
For example, Academic Decathlon (AcaDeca) is an activity that looks great on a student’s transcripts and college application. However, it is also a very strenuous activity that takes more time than many students would be willing to spend. AcaDeca students study every day and are often on campus for long hours along with week-long competitions.
Junior Tamara Harres is able to deal with the stress and demands of AcaDeca because she relies on her teammates.
“Even though we have only been friends for six months, all of my teammates in AcaDeca are my family. We keep each other accountable when we study together and we work together to make our strengths better,” Cruz said.
It is not only the academically inclined programs that draw dedicated students, however. Many of the school’s athletic programs require just as much time and effort as the arts and academic activities.
Junior Luis Silva is on both the varsity track team and the cross country team. To him, the training before the races is tough. However, the feeling after the race makes it worth the struggle before it.
“To be on the team mainly requires lots of dedication. You’re required to practice every day and be the fastest you can possibly be on race day. But in the end, when you finish the race, you have that great feeling that all that hard work you put in paid off,” Silva said.
Though these students may be active in different ways, what all of these students, and many others of this generation, have in common is their passion for the activities that they are a part of.
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