Making school special: Vote for the best response to this week's Desert Dialogues
Our weekly Desert Dialogues writing contest invites high school students at the desert's three public K-12 school districts to tell us how they're responding to conversations in the community. This week, we received 60 entries.
Thank you to everyone who participated.
Just as we do with our Athlete of the Week, readers get to vote in a poll (found at the bottom of this story) for the response that resonated with them the most. To maintain an even playing field, we will initially keep the identities of the participating students anonymous. The student who receives the most votes will be "revealed" in a story the following Monday.
More: Indio High student wins Desert Dialogues for writing about the importance of extracurriculars
The prompt for this week drew inspiration from Mary Barsaleau's piece on a pickleball player's personal speech about how the sport has influenced his life at a nearby park, as well as last week's Desert Dialogues winner.
The question was: Think about the clubs, pathways/ academies, extracurriculars, sports programs offered at your school or community. Which one has given you the most joy and meaning and why? What is it like to be in that program? In what ways has that program impacted your life and who you are today?
Read on for this week's responses — which have been edited for clarity — and vote for the one that resonated with you the most by noon on Thursday:
Student A
Winter guard, a sport where you must portray strong emotions to invoke the audience to share the same feelings, has given me so much happiness and has allowed me to grow as a performer and a human being. Performing a show that can create strong emotions with an audience brings me so much joy, even if the show is sad, angry or happy. Knowing that the audience feels a connection with the show because of the performance we put on is what us performers hope to achieve.
The program that I am in has grown so much over the three years I have been a part of it. We went from placing low to making history and winning first place at one of our competitions. This program has impacted my life by allowing me to mature in a place where I feel comfortable. Being able to release any emotions I feel on the floor during the performance is what allowed me to become the person I am.
Student B
Out of all the programs and sports I’ve been involved in, none have impacted me as much as swimming has. I’ll give credit where credit is due: basketball was the first sport to have gotten me out of my comfort zone. However, none of these experiences compare to the level of physical and mental strength I’ve developed from swimming. I got involved with swim in my freshman year, exiting COVID. I’m not sure what compelled me to join, especially because I had no experience swimming whatsoever, but I decided to reach out to the school's head swim coach and requested to join her swim class. Little did I know that that decision would completely transform my life.
Currently, I am in my third year of swimming, and I am the girls' varsity team captain. Did I ever predict this happening? No. When I first started swimming, I could not float. To say the least, I stepped out of my comfort zone and it took me months to learn how to do the basic freestyle stroke. But, I do not regret joining one bit. Not only did I learn a life saving skill, but swim introduced me to amazing friendships and opportunities. This is why I believe it’s important for my schoolmates to join programs or sports, because it is really life-changing. I also hope more people would give swimming lessons a try since it is utterly an important life skill.
Student C
Wrestling has been my life for the last four years: Three-hour practices after school, 12-hour tournaments every weekend, duel meets on Wednesdays, summer practices and club practices. Being a wrestler has been the biggest challenge and greatest privilege I have yet to experience. The adrenaline I feel stepping on the mat before a match is unparalleled. Wrestling has given me an immense sense of purpose and accomplishment. Working towards a long-term goal, day in and day out, brought me confidence in my ability to be disciplined and remain focused. Managing sports and academics came as a challenge due to my busy athletic schedule and low remaining energy for school; however, my wrestling team and coaches were a great support system that kept me willing to pursue good grades.
Being a part of my school's wrestling team was like having a second family. This program has impacted who I am today by giving me a new skillset that can not only be used on the mat but also in my life outside of wrestling. I have learned valuable leadership skills and positive self-talk. Taking losses on the mat allowed my resilience and ability to bounce back to become clear to me. I believe all children should seek an extracurricular activity to challenge their comfort zone and create an environment where they can explore other versions of themselves, in order to discover their own capabilities and fully unlock their potential.
Student D
I recall being a freshman, with no passion and dried up dreams, after the pandemic hit, and the theater acting company at my high school brought back the spark that I had once held. I had accustomed myself to be a quiet kid, one that never gets a chance to speak unless my hand was raised, never seen unless I was presenting, secluding myself from most people with the exception of one friend. Day-to-day life in school was dull; all I knew was getting up in the morning to repeat the cycle and hoping to get an 80 or higher on a test.
Theater found me during freshman year; my love for it expanded after I had witnessed the passion and dedication people devoted themselves to it. These people around me lost themselves in what they saw as their future and joy. With endless rehearsals and never-ending practices, they never failed to come to school with smiles on their faces and even more energy than before. Seeing their perseverance through it all had an impactful influence on me. Finally hearing my own voice and laughter while being surrounded by those whom I finally call family, never has it been easier to wake up in the morning and feel as though I finally have a place to belong.
Student E
The clubs and activities that my school has to offer have only left a positive impact on my life because our teachers and fellow peers are always there to help one another, no matter the circumstances. Conditioning has brought the most joy and meaning to my life because it allows me to better myself — not only on the inside but the outside as well. One of the greatest problems I have faced is body dysmorphia, and conditioning allows me to slowly change and sculpt my body to a point that I’m more content and proud of. Another reason why conditioning plays a major part in my life is because of all the new people it has allowed me to meet, and because it’s taught me how to appreciate all the small things in life, whether it's spending time with my friends or any small achievements I have accomplished up to this point.
It’s truly surreal to see the amount of progress I’ve accomplished within this small span of time that I’ve been in conditioning. It holds a lot of meaning for me because it’s helped me get in a better state of mind, and it’s also made me feel genuinely happier every day. This is why conditioning is mine and many others' favorite activity, due to the fact that it allows one to strive for self-betterment and it also fosters competition amongst others. This lifestyle of constant competition and striving to be better has helped many people during tough times in their lives, and that’s why conditioning, for me, holds the most joy and meaning out of all the school activities that my school has to offer.
Student F
Playing with my high school's soccer team for the past three years has been something I will always remember and cherish until the end of time. Playing with this team was such an honor since it gave my fellow teammates and myself an opportunity to meet great people and build relationships outside of sport. We formed more than a friendship; we formed a family. Since the day I joined in my sophomore year, it has always been one of the biggest highlights of my career. Although we had an incredible record, we came up short in the CIF playoffs, which brought the whole team down. Even though we lost, we were all still happy that we had a family. Being able to put on a varsity jersey to represent my school was a big achievement in itself. Playing soccer improved my personal well-being; it's really a mental sport over physical. I believe being expected to run for around 80 minutes is very tough and mentally challenging. It has also taught me how to become more disciplined and to never give up. My sophomore year, I was brought into the team as a varsity player, but with low minutes and low performances, I was dropped to junior varsity, which really upset me. So I tried my best to improve my overall game, which was a success since I got moved back up to varsity soccer and have remained there ever since.
Soccer has many ups, but it also has many downs. Sometimes it's very stressful and cruel, which makes you want to quit and stop playing. But when that happens, that's truly the best thing to happen because you must force yourself to overcome it and "just do it," which is very beneficial to your mentality. You can learn many things from playing soccer, and my favorite thing I've learned playing is that you can truly turn friends into family. My first year playing, I didn't know anybody and felt awkward when paired with people I didn't know. Those same "people" would then be invited to birthday parties and other family activities, even after the soccer season. This is why I believe soccer has brought the most joy and emotion to me.
Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Making school special: Vote for the best response to this week's Desert Dialogues
