Phoenix Profiles: Humans of Rock Ridge

“'The journey of my life' is how I'd describe my experience with soccer. My dad got me into [it and] sparked my passion for soccer. The time I've dedicated to my sport is something I'll never regret. Since I was six, I’ve made memories on the field. One person who stuck out in my experience with soccer was my friend Daniel. I think I would be a different person if I didn't play soccer.”

"Film and photography is like an outlet for me, a form of expressing myself. I can't recall why or how I got into photography, but over the past years, it's been a way for me to express my viewpoint and artistic views, as I was never good at traditional art, such as painting or drawing, when I was younger. From picking up the camera and changing the focus, too taking a picture, it all felt natural...

“I really just like making stuff, and theater is a really great way for me to express that, and has definitely helped me channel my energy into something that I can use. I’ve probably gotten my inspiration for costuming from here and [my brother and I] from wanting to live in a fantasy world and wear costumes. I taught myself how to sew. I’ve sewn Halloween costumes for myself, my friends, and...

"At Rock Ridge, what interests me is CTE. Previously I've taken classes like Aerospace and now I'm taking DE Stagecraft. I never had a passion for English like some other people do. I understand why some people like it, but I never found it to be one of my things. I'm going to major in Computer Engineering, but that is also very related to Aerospace. I plan to work at NASA, that's my dream job, working...

"My favorite classes are AP Bio and AP World because they challenge me. My least favorite class is Business and Marketing because it's easy and interesting. I play soccer and I plan to play for my school. My favorite memory in school is playing soccer with my friends."

“Every good song impacts me–especially if it’s written really well. Taylor Swift's music is written so poetically. I listen to her music all the time. I’ll use some new words [in her songs] and use them in essays. Some of her songs resonate with me. I really like “this is me trying.” It’s very poetic and hits upon my soul. Lyrics [can be] very impactful. I tend to gravitate to music that...

“As a kid, we moved a lot because my dad was in the army. I’ve been to Texas, N.Y, P.a, and the Philippines. About five years ago, we moved to V.a. Moving from place to place has affected me a lot. As a child, you want to stay in one place to make a lot of friends. Trying to be there for my siblings has been especially hard. It's been a lot of stress supporting them, making friends, and keeping...

"Every memory [from theatre] is fun and special. That's really corny to say, but yeah it's a fun class. I don't think I have a bad memory. Last class, we got to unbox chairs, and I got to throw cardboard boxes in to the dumpster. It was so fun. It was very great. I've been in one production last year. I was in scared silly. I was one of the leads. [For the performance of Midnight Club] opening night...

"Juice club really is just about the community at Rock Ridge. We just have a group of people that are there just to enjoy juice, you know? Nothing competitive other than fun competitions, nothing too stressful. So really anyone can join juice club, because we want to be open minded.”

"My second week of volunteering, there was this little girl, and she didn't know anything--and I didn't either! There's this tack room where we get the stuff to get the horses ready, and the saddles are big, mind you, and she's like four, and she helped me bring her tack to her horse. So there's this little four year old, carrying her saddle, and now we’ve become 'best friends.' I see her every Tuesday,...

Working with the Egyptian national team was the biggest thing that ever happened in my life. Any time someone gets to represent their country whether it's in sports or anything else, it's always a pleasure. Being able to represent my country, especially in a sport that's loved by the people, is an honor and a privilege. I learned a lot there, met a lot of people, especially because I was there a lot...

“[In my future], I'm thinking about composing, maybe music production. I want to have more of a focus on songwriting, because I love writing, and I love English–but I [also] love music–so I love that that's like a conjoined thing. It’s perfect for me. I am a Cappies critic, which involves a lot of English, and I'm also on the leadership team. Cappies is essentially like the Tony Awards for...

"I feel like I've had theater...in my blood my entire life. My parents met during theater, they have always encouraged me to do theater [from] a very young age. So, I feel like that has encouraged me to keep on pursuing my passion for theater. I just love it because it has given me a sense of self confidence...and I learned to love a community where they don't judge you for who you are."

“I feel like I have definitely been pushed to be more active, and I feel like being back in an interactive environment is definitely more freeing. With distance learning, I was held up in my room, and I barely like doing anything like participating in activities -- I didn’t really do that -- but with being back in school, I’ve definitely had more fun.”

"When I was in middle school, I saw the county music fair they were playing, and it was so much more complicated than what I was playing at the time, and it just sounded so good. They all looked so uninformed and it just looked like a put together program than what I was used to, so when I went and I listened to them, and especially now being the program, and being able to inspire other people to join...

“Before a big [swim] meet I try and get at least a good night's rest so I can calm my nerves and be fully rested before the meet. I make sure I'm well fed. I usually load up on carbs [and] eat a massive fettuccine alfredo pasta. Going into the meet, I try to push the initial racing anxiety out of the way and come in it with an attitude of you know I'm there to have fun. “If I didn't have a race...

“Soccer is definitely a constant, something I can hold onto because it never really changes. [Over the summer I] spent a lot of time recovering from [ACL surgery following my soccer injury], and I started working on shortening my college list, so I kinda knew where I wanted to apply once senior year started. [The United States Naval Academy] is my dream school. I do plan on applying next year. I’ve...

"I take a lot of hard classes.I take pre AP and honor classes.The amount of workload in those classes is tough, and I always try to finish them at least during class, but I don’t really have time. I do my work most of the time in the evening after dinner in my room. I always listen to music, usually BTS, while doing my work because my house gets super loud. The stress is tough; however, a way I deal...

“In my childhood, I moved around a lot, specifically from California to Pennsylvania when I was in second grade. And then I made a pretty big shift from Pennsylvania to Virginia when I was in third. Going from my childhood friends in California to Pennsylvania was the first big change because I didn't really fit in with many of the kids in Pennsylvania. But with my move to Virginia, I was able to...

“Serena [Williams] -- I grew up watching her. I always liked her. I liked her playing style, I liked the emotion she shows. People will tell you to keep it all in, to be “cool.” She wears her emotions on her sleeve, but not in a way that’s self-destructive. Instead of showing your anger, like smashing your racket, she puts that into her game and it makes her game better. She uses that as fuel....

"On the way down I wasn't sure what was happening, but I remember that my arms were really tense, so when I hit the ground, [the impact] really fractured my right elbow. I was in kindergarten when I was playing on the monkey bars with my best friend. It was my first time doing the monkey bars, and I fell on my third [attempt] and broke my arm. I had to learn how to do daily tasks with my left hand,...

"I've been doing Dance for 12 years now. Dance is just me. It's like an outlet for me to let loose and forget about my worries and in the same way just have fun, which is why I want to pursue it as a career. I don't feel nervous when I am performing in front of people, it's actually fun, so I enjoy it a lot. ...