Just last week marked the end of the first quarter of the 2025-2026 school year. A four-day weekend gave students a much needed break from schoolwork. To celebrate? Austin Jones, a senior at Sunlake, went to the Billie Eilish concert on Thursday, October 9th in Miami. Her tour for “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT” took her to Orlando and Miami locations in Florida as she performed her Grammy-nominated third album. Austin went with his sister, Sophia Jones, to the Miami performance at Kaseya Center. As a longtime fan, he says, “I’ve been a Billie fan since 2019, and I’ve always loved her music. My sister became a fan after HIT ME HARD AND SOFT… and this was our opportunity to go see her.” Austin and Sophia had both been anticipating this exciting event since the sale of her tickets in May. 

After this eventful night in Miami on Thursday, he drove home on Friday and went to the Butter Bowl home football game. This game Sunlake hosts annually, rivaling us against Land O’ Lakes High School, and lets students show off their school spirit when playing our main rival team. 

For the weekend, Austin picked up work shifts at his afternoon job at Academy Sports + Outdoors.  

On Monday, he and four of his friends decided they wanted to hang out. Late night bowling at Pin Chasers in Brandon was the spot to be at, with everyone winning games and enjoying their time off. Austin says, “The highlight of the night was spending time with friends that I haven’t seen in a while and cherishing the moment.” With some of them attending different schools, others in different classes, and having to go to work, it’s easy for senior students to get caught up with all their assignments—not only that but including college applications and preparation. A busy start to the school year, for our seniors especially, calls for a relaxing, calm four-day weekend for wrapping up our first quarter.