Sam Jendrysik, Junior
Extracurriculars are a cornerstone of any kid’s school experience. They fill afternoons and put a nice little bow on college applications. Some extracurriculars, such as newspaper club or ACG club, can be done with ease, and without too much commitment. However, some of the bigger ticket extras take up a little more time, and a lot more effort. Sports like track and wrestling, for example, are physically demanding and would take up 90 percent of my time. Whether it’s waking up at 5:30 on a Saturday to make the bus for a wrestling quad, or being at the track at 7 on a day off from school to practice for a meet that I’m not even competing in, all the while putting my body and mind through the ringer, sports are brutal on the body. That said, almost nothing beats the rush of elation one gets from pinning an opponent or shattering a personal best in the weight room or on the track.
I thought I’d be an athlete throughout my high school career. The schedules are such that sports and acting are mutually exclusive, and the theater remained something to watch, rather than an after-school possibility, until a bit of turmoil led to me taking off my athlete hat and donning my thespian hat. This was when I discovered the one thing that beats the elation felt during sports. The one thing that brought me more joy than making varsity and winning a race or a match was standing on stage with my friends, taking our bows in front of a packed audience. The theater, though considerably less physically draining, is still one of the tougher things I’ve done, especially on opening night. The butterflies so often in my stomach right before an event were there again as the curtain rose. Maybe I’m biased because the theater is where most of my friends spend their time. But if I could go back in time and start high school over again, I’d walk past the team bus and right into the theater.