“I enjoy doing many things during my free time, such as playing my electric guitar, finishing my homework, going to work, and running track, but of all the things I love to do, freestyling takes the cake. I like to freestyle for fun, and I feel like I’m naturally good at it — it flows extremely smoothly. I usually have crowds come around when I start and people love hearing me rap. It is not something I want to pursue, but it really does make me happy.”

“Back in 8th grade, I was uploading beats on YouTube, and honestly, those beats were pretty bad. But making beats online was something I always wanted to do just to gain traction and be reputable. [However,] the problem was that the producers and the community online were and are still very competitive. It’s very hit or miss on whether you make it or not. Or you have to be uploading almost every day, and I just quite literally didn’t have the time. So I found a better outreach for me was to personally get in touch with producers through platforms like Instagram and Discord, and now I just send them samples directly. This way, if they want more music samples from me, they can buy them from me or they could ‘DM’ me like ‘I want more,’ and we could collaborate that way. To me that was just a lot easier. But now that I’ve gotten back into DJing, I want to have more of a social media presence. Especially with college coming up, I want to get my name out there and mess around with other DJs.”

“I love soccer so much. I was born in Brazil, a very passionate country about soccer. We’ve won 5 World Cups, the most ever. In Brazil, you’re kind of a weird kid if you don’t play soccer. I started playing when I was 4. I would play in the streets, backyard, beach, etc. I moved to the U.S when I was 7, and I started taking it more seriously here. I started working out, and focusing on what I eat, drink, my sleep, and other things a committed soccer player needs. I play as a center defender; my idol is Sergio Ramos. The way he plays, his skills, and especially his aggression — people on the field say they hate me because I’m too aggressive or too hard, [but] it’s just because I hate losing. I’m so passionate about this sport. I also play it when I have a lot on my mind. This sport makes me so happy, and I’m glad to say I’m one of the many billions who love and play.”

“[I started playing volleyball] because I needed to get in shape and volleyball was there. Once I started playing it, I couldn’t stop. Volleyball is quite literally my life. Everything I do surrounds my [volleyball] schedule, and my practices and stuff. [After I graduate] I want to be an entrepreneur and have my own business, but I love all sports, lifting, and taking care of myself. I’m going to do volleyball in college and I do currently have schools scouting and recruiting me.”

“As much as this saying is overused, I balance theatre and academics by using my time wisely. I’m always working in study hall and just focusing on getting my work done when I have time so that I’m able to give my full attention to theatre. I think that whenever you truly love to do something, you will do whatever it takes to be successful in it; it’s like your motivation. If I don’t get enough sleep, I don’t just blame my extracurriculars for messing up my academics. Sometimes I do get unmotivated, but I have to remember that, at the end of the day, I’m the one in control of my decisions, and it’s important to make the right decisions that end up with the best results for me. I do believe that it’s the end of the world when I have too many test and projects. If I don’t do well in something, I act like the whole world is going to fall on me. I have to remember that failure is a part of life and instead of crying in the corner about it — which I end up doing initially — it’s important to act upon it and ensure it doesn’t happen again, and I think the same set of advice can go into to theatre, cause I tend to put a lot of myself into it, and sometimes I need to calm down and just need to think about myself for second before I can do anything else.”

“My determination [is the strongest part of my personality]. I like to go out and get things done, the things I aspire to do. For example, one of my career aspirations is to be a lawyer, and I know that has a lot of work that starts right now, so I am determined to get all my work done and do everything thoroughly, just so I can achieve my goals to the fullest extent. I feel like this was mainly a natural development and kind of my community too. A lot of South Asians have high standards in academics, and I’d say I wasn’t pressured by it, but I was kind of compelled to make my own mark on the world. A lot of South Asians don’t really go for the law type thing, some do, but it is mainly CS, engineering, and medical. So I was really compelled to do something different, not because everyone was doing the same, but because I knew I wasn’t going to fit in those paths. One of my main personal goals is to make the world better little by little, it doesn’t necessarily have to be all at once, just some really small things, whether it be policies or an action I do. I just want to make the world better just little by little.”

“I helped start a ‘Generation Ratify’ [club] right here at Rock Ridge, which is a countrywide club that has chapters in many different states where we are trying to help ratify the equal rights amendment. The sooner this gets done, the better this is for literally everyone. That’s what the summer has been for me: helping us get off our feet and hopefully, even though it’s my last year at Rock Ridge, I want to get [the club] on its feet and set it up for the coming years.”

“I was in fifth grade and when I was running [in PE], I fell [on my knee] and it snapped out of place. [My injury] is an issue that not many people have to struggle with, and it’s something that has impacted a lot of my experiences. It’s not just the pain, since it’s more about the things that I can’t do that my peers can do. It can almost feel like I’m being left out. It’s hard to be at [basketball] practice every day and watch people play the sport I love, but I can’t participate in. I want to be able to contribute on the court but I can’t. Once I realized that I probably couldn’t play basketball ever again, I wanted to take that and work at Mr. Powell’s office so that I could help other people with what I couldn’t be helped with. It lets me help [the athletes], because I can relate to what they’re going through.”

“In middle school we came here [to Rock Ridge], and I saw the crew booth. I sat on an erg and then I started racing, and I won. It was either crew or track, and I’m not a runner. It’s on the river, and it seemed like a good community of people. I think it was very easy to get along with the Rock Ridge Crew team, because we’re all around the same age, and we’re all different but we have kind of the same interests. It was really easy to get along with them and bond as a team. My first few days were exciting and scary, because I had no clue what I was getting into and I had no clue what was going to go on, but it was very comforting after a while. From an emotional standpoint, (racing) is stressful and exciting. Once you start racing it ‘s just go go go go go go go, and then you stop, and you realize ‘Wow.. I just did that.’ Your hands are bleeding, the person in front of you crabs four times in a row, it’s crazy. Your heart’s racing, and there’s all this adrenaline.There are some bad days, but I really enjoy it because of the community it’s given me. Best memory from practice was definitely doing trivia in the boat. I love the water, and the sounds of the boat, and the way it feels when you’re rowing. It feels like home when I’m at that river. ”

“I started when I was four and my mom put me in ballet lessons, but the thing was, I didn’t want to do ballet. So then I told her I wanted to play soccer. It was fun because she was very caught by surprise when I said that. It just stared from there, and I kept playing soccer and I went from academy to travel and then I started playing club.”

“Right now I’m doing a lot of sports, like cross country and hockey, so I don’t have a lot of free time. I’m trying to get better with endurance, and cross country should help me with other things, like hockey. A couple of my friends are doing it, and my dad did it. He is definitely a big influence on me, so he said it’d be really good to do [cross country] to build endurance and speed. I was playing baseball before hockey, and it got really boring for me and I didn’t like it. My dad also played hockey growing up, and I’ve been playing in the basement since I was 2 or 3 years old, so it’s been something I really wanted to do. [My dad] has been my coach since I started playing, and he taught me how to ice skate, how to roller blade, and he pretty much got me into hockey, so he has definitely been a big part of hockey.”

“[The Barbie movie] is one of my favorite movies. It did a really good job in portraying women’s struggles in today’s society, especially in the [workforce] and how sexism plays a part in our every day [lives]. Personally [watching] it made me so happy, because Barbie dolls were my favorite toys growing up. Getting to see my little sister getting fully hyped for the Barbie movie made me really happy because she’s doing the stuff that I would have done at her age. [My little sister is] more ‘woke’ in the sense that she knows that women have it harder than men in a way. Before the Barbie movie, she thought that everybody was all lovey dovey, [everyone had] equal pay, [and there was] no sexism. It opened her eyes to how women are portrayed in society. [Everybody should] watch the Barbie movie because it’s also a very cute, warm and fuzzy type of movie.”

“I think what’s cool about debate is that you can also know people from other schools and become friends with them, and there’s a sense of community even if you’re disagreeing on things. My favorite [memory] was when we were doing online debate. I think it was my third debate competition that year, and it was really fun because my opponent and [I] had such different perspectives on the same issue, and it was truly very interesting to see. In the end, we both ended up becoming friends.”

“I listen to music basically all the time. There’s not a lot of music I don’t like. With that said, my musical preference has changed a lot, especially in the last year or so. My playlists used to consist of a lot more of western pop music, but nowadays it consists of a lot more korean pop.”

“I was here in 9th grade. I’m [now] a sophomore. [The first day of school] was stressful and I was nervous. It was scary meeting all my new teachers, but having friends in the classes definitely helped. I think all my classes are good this year, [however] my German class is hard. [Last year] I didn’t do my work. I waited until last night to do it. Now, I write things down and then try to do them before they are due. I’m getting into the groove of things and I’m thinking of getting my sleep schedule back on track from summer and everything.”

“I feel like art can be anything and nothing at the same time. [The] only necessity for art is that a person made it. It doesn’t have to mean anything, just as it can have a meaning if someone wants it to. It can be as detailed or as superficial as the creator wants it to be. [For me,] I just make whatever whenever. If I like something, I’ll make it. I get inspired by random things that I like, [for instance,] different color combinations or a new artist I found, or things like snails. Art is personal for me in that sense, there’s no explanation. It’s just me, I suppose.”

“The most effective way I use my influence as a debate captain is teaching my debate team how to think and be argumentative which will help them in the long run when developing essays in their AP classes. My favorite part of leadership is just having fun and interacting with people along with helping others succeed. When you’re in a chamber and get to give your speech, that’s the most fun for me because you’re standing in front of like 20 people and a few judges and you’re really arguing about what you believe. I learned a lot from debate as in how to teach people and even through my job at Coherence Learning for tutoring and I used to work at the coding school. There, I learnt a lot about how to help someone through a subject without being condescending and be most effective while doing that. When I graduate, I’ll miss the tournaments the most because they’re always fun no matter if we lost or won. They were always fun to just be there and interact with people from different schools.”

“[Since] elementary school I’ve done theater, but in elementary school, it was more like acting which wasn’t for me. When I entered middle school, drama club was what it was called, I got to see the tech aspects and that got me really into it. It’s a really diverse thing. If you went into acting, there’s multiple aspects of that: you could learn singing, [scriptwriting], and things like that. Tech theater is everything behind the scenes, like painting and costume design. [Without tech], there wouldn’t be theater. Summer camp was also fun, waking up really early and doing a lot of different things. We also played mafia a lot, which was really cool. There isn’t one specific thing I like about [tech], I just really love building and I like using tools; I use a lot of tools. I did do some stage managing for costumes and designing in general. [If you want to join theater], it’s very fun; but, you have to be ready to commit to it. It’s not just a one day class, there’s times you have to commit on the weekends; but, it’s really fun.”

“The experience of [playing the percussion in] marching band, playing the piano, attending music theory classes, and listening to music takes me away from my worries and transports me into another world. No matter how I’m feeling, I’ll end up feeling better after playing music. I always liked [playing the piano] but it was more practicing. Two years ago, I started really enjoying it and playing a lot more. I’d hear a song and be like “Oh I want to play that,” and then I started learning it. The fact that I had the urge to do it made me feel accomplished. At some point I kind of lost touch [when I was on vacation or took pauses]. It wasn’t a break from the piano, but from a few songs. I tried to play them again [but I couldn’t]. It’s weird, you have to relearn the song, but since you already have it under your belt, it’s hard to relearn everything. It’s already in there but you can’t get to it. There are a lot of people who are more dedicated and better than I am. Sometimes I feel unaccomplished compared to them, but at the end I play music for my enjoyment and not specifically for getting to this super high level. Nowadays, I even play the piano as a way of procrastinating. I definitely want to play [the piano] throughout my life, at least as a hobby.”

“It was kind of a lot of anticipation, because I wrote the song in March, and it took me four months to release it, [because] I was worried what people were going to say. When I was younger, a lot of people would tell me, ‘Your goals are unrealistic’ [because] I wanted to be a singer, and as a young person that discourages you. You listen to older people [because] you know they know better. My love for music [and playing guitar] kind of faded away, but I finally got back into it during quarantine. I remember the day [the song] released, my friends were like, ‘Let’s have a release party’, and I was so scared; it [started] playing and we all start singing it. I’ve always been inspired by Taylor Swift, [and] if something happens between me and a person, I [write a song] about it [because] I’m not really good with confrontation. Saying words that I’ll never say to them is definitely better.”

“When I was new to high school, I was trying to find a way to meet new people and get involved. While online, I had a teacher who kept telling us all the fun things that happened before the pandemic. I was like, wow, this seems like something I’d really love to be a part of. I did gymnastics for a little bit. Now, I’m a captain for cheer and do fall competition cheer. I play lacrosse in the spring. I’ve also done a lot of clubs in the past, like Educators Rising, WINGS, Key Club, and psychology. I try to be as involved as I can. I’m here at school almost every morning, whether that’s for practice or just a club meeting. I get here at 5:00 A.M. and sometimes I stay late too. I feel like for a long time I’ve always been big on school spirit, it really just makes me feel more like part of the community here at Rock Ridge. Just being a part of my community and being able to meet all these people is what kind of drives me to join and it’s what I really enjoy. It’s why I don’t really get stressed out. Because all of this stuff, it’s all for the sake of having fun and being able to build connections with other people.”

“I love to write, writing us my passion. I write everything from fiction to poetry, narratives and creative writing. I’m writing a book, it’s a dystopian romance based in the future. Eventually I do plan on publishing [a book]. It’s a dream of mine to publish books.”

“Honestly, I just love playing with my little brother. Our birthdays are actually three days apart. I was supposed to be born in August. He was supposed to be born in October, but then we kind of met in the middle, so we’re both [in September. I’m] Sept. 3, and he’s Sept. 6. He is the sweetest little brother anyone could ever have, and I love him to the bottom of my heart. I know I don’t have as much time to play with him anymore, which is kind of sad because I do enjoy spending time with him–he’s really really funny. So, I try my best to spend a lot of my free time playing with him because it’s an enjoyable experience for both of us, and we’re really close. He’s nine. He just turned nine.”

“I wanted to spend more time with my younger brother because after high school began, I kind of neglected him…but seeing that I’m going to graduate this year, I think it’s important that I rekindle that relationship between us. You know, do simple things, like go to the gym together, stuff like that. [I want to] set a good example [because] he’s going to high school next year, so I want him to be prepared because when I started high school, I really didn’t know what was going on. So I think it would be very helpful to have that insight — that’s the benefit of being an older brother, right?”

“I was always really passionate about soccer, I loved it since an early age and I just wanted to keep on playing all throughout high school, make my team, and play well and do well. Playing soccer helps me make new friends and helps me just be open to new experiences, and have fun.”

“I’m in an organization called the Loudoun County’s Youth Advisory Council. Their motto is: “For teens, by teens.“ We create teen events and it’s all done with high schoolers. At first I joined because I really wanted to be involved in my community outside of school, and I wanted to learn about the different service opportunities that I could receive. One of my future goals has, and always will be, to give back to the community at any time and anywhere. My mom always placed an importance on me to give back to my community. That kind of led me to my motivation to join all these clubs and organizations.”

“Moving here was a huge change; the difference between STAR testing in Texas and Virginia SOLs was certainly an adjustment, but I don’t think I suffered much academically. The best part of Virgina is that things are much closer; I don’t feel like I have to drive everywhere to have fun. The thing I miss the most about Texas is my friends. I got very comfortable at my old school, so it was a significant change having to leave.”

“I like photography. I do sports photography for the football team, and I am starting to do it for the basketball team and other sports here at Rock Ridge. I really enjoy it, it’s a lot of fun, I been going to almost all the football games and they love having pictures of them. Taylor Cheeks [got me into photography]; she is now at Virginia Tech. She got me into photography over the summer, as we both worked at the same pool. Someone on the football team asked, saying they needed someone now that Taylor graduated, and I stepped up to the challenge, spending my time at the pool talking to her about it and asking for tips and tricks. I am looking forward to taking photos of basketball and track, and just really getting feedback from people of what I can do better, cause I’m mainly there at their games to make them look good. I love when they post the pictures I took on their own Instragrams; everytime I see it, I send a screenshot to my mom to show her. It’s just so fun to see that I’m able to help around school sports.”

“[VEX Robotics] is essentially my version of a sport. It’s what I do with all of my friends and what I’ve been doing as I’ve grown up. It’s just been really fun and a really big part of my identity now. There was a lot of emotions [at VEX Robotics at Worlds]. To some level, we were nervous because historically, robots break on the plane ride there. Then, there’s a lot of nerves in the competitions themselves. Like eager, excited at the end of rounds and the beginning of rounds. Honestly, angry and mad too at certain outcomes and certain calls. It’s just like a whole mixed bag of emotions.”