Senior Emilia Rodriguez was eager to return to school after a two-week winter break for many reasons. Emilia had time off from school and her busy dance schedule was cut down. She enjoyed the time off, but wanted to get back into routine as soon as possible. In addition to being eager to return to routine, Emilia said, “I am eager to reunite with some of my closest friends…” back on campus. Being a senior, this is Emilia’s last semester of high school. It is bittersweet, but she is excited that “…graduation is only a few months away.” Although she was eager to return to school, when this senior heard school was canceled on Tuesday due to severe weather, she was excited. Emilia had spent her entire last weekend of winter break in Orlando for a dance competition and needed the extra day to prepare. Emilia said, “This extra day gave me the opportunity to prepare for school both physically and mentally.” Despite wanting to come back to Sunlake as soon as possible, she really benefitted from this bonus day away from school. She would much rather return to school prepared.
During her break, Emilia celebrated both Christmas and the New Year. She also “…had extra rehearsals for some classes…” in dance because of her competition during break, though the others were cut. Even though Emilia had some things to do, she was still met with a great amount of free time. With this excess of time on her hands, she said, “I sometimes find myself not knowing what to do…” and she much prefers “…having a specific schedule to follow during school.” She said she prefers the structured time to make her day “…as productive and enjoyable as possible.”
