Photo Illustration by Thanh Ly

“My big dream, since I’ve had since I was a little kid, was to play professional basketball,” Naidoo said. “I’m thinking it just depends on how hard I work. How much I’m willing to sacrifice to get to that level.”

According to the NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association, an estimate of about 3.1 percent of high school senior boys playing basketball move on to play at the college, or NCAA, level.  The probability, as a NCAA athlete, to play in a professional men’s basketball league is even less with a 1.2 percent chance. But counselor Sally Wooly believes professions, like athletes or musicians, need a back up plan.

“Pursue your passion if you need to pursue it,” Wooly said. “A lot of people spend years working towards [their] goal. But have a back-up plan that’s related [to your passion].”

According to Wooly, students should look into what schools and programs their college of choice offers in order for them to work towards their passion. This year, he has been approached by about three colleges and has been invited to workouts every Sunday at theDallasChristianCollege. He attended a basketball workshop this past summer inChicago, exposing himself to different colleges.

“Learning from the camp, I realized that whether you [perform well or not during a game], just me going out there and taking that chance was an opportunity that could basically help me in the future,” Naidoo said.

There have been others who have discouraged him however, such as close family members telling him that he would not be playing basketball in the future and instead end up working at Wendy’s. The negativity, however, is a driving force to make him work harder to prove them wrong.

“There are a lot of people that tell you things like, ‘You’re not going to be able to play college basketball here’ or ‘You’re not going to do that great’,” Naidoo said. “A lot of my coaches told me that you can’t let that get to your head.”

Even though his dream is to continue to play basketball, he has a back up plan to get a degree in finance or business. But Naidoo chooses to take a different career path from the rest of his family. He wants to do something different rather than going into the medical or law field like most of his family members. His parents encouraged him to pursue a different career. His mother wanted him to go into the medical field while his dad wanted him to live out his personal dream of joining the Army or Air Force.

“They didn’t think I’d be playing basketball in college,” Naidoo said. “They just wanted me to go to college and get a degree. Now, they’re more supportive towards me. Even though they know it is not the safest career path, they see that I put passion towards it.”

After being approached by colleges and making varsity, his family, including his parents, have become more supportive of his endeavors. His mother even attended the workshop inChicagowith him and watched him play. But the backbone of how Naidoo started becoming serious about persevering college basketball is due to his older sister, alumna Valencia Naidoo. She had pushed him to contact the colleges first instead of vice versa, convincing him to present his skills to them.

“She was the reason I put myself out there,” Naidoo said. “She said ‘hey, let’s be real about this and show coaches films of your games, email them and contact them through phone’. She really showed me that I have to go and pursue the colleges I want.”

But Naidoo’s biggest role model, the person who had pushed his dream of playing professionally, wasValencia’s friend and alumnus, Kola Togunde. The summer before Togunde was preparing to go off to play college basketball inCalifornia, Togunde had asked Naidoo to attend his work outs with him. For Naidoo, it had become the hardest summer of his life. He had even given up a couple of times, but eventually motivated himself to keep going. He looked up to Togunde and was able to learn from the mistakes he made and better himself.

“This dream with having playing basketball professionally, it started to come alive,” Naidoo said. “I was like ‘Hey, I could actually do what I want to do,’ if I work hard at it and have faith in what I do and believe in myself.  He taught me about work ethic and how you have to really work hard to be one of the best basketball players. He’s the one I give a lot of credit to. He always will be.”

But after leaving for college, Togunde had changed his career plans to pursue music instead of basketball, upsetting Naidoo. However, Togunde’s new career choice did not discourage Naidoo but instead motivated him to do anything but quit.

“In my time, being with [Togunde], if you’re going to do something you love, you might as well do it to the fullest,” Naidoo said. “He got me that far. Look how far I’ve gotten to this day. I just think I might as well pursue it while I can.”

Photo Illustration by Thanh Ly

About five to 10 minutes away, they popped one or two pills. After showing their fake IDs to the parking lot attendant Sara* and John* entered Afterlife. Thirty minutes later, their senses began to heighten and their jaws start to chatter and clench. The release of serotonin causes a rush of emotions for both of them. They dance for what seems like forever, as they have lost all sense of time. Soon, reality kicks back in and although they’re tired and sweaty, they both decide to take another pill.

As of Oct. 4,Dallaspolice are trying to shut down Afterlife, a popular rave club that many students have attended after the recent death of a 19-year-old male due to an overdose that occurred at the location. This club, known for its electronic dance music (EDM) events, has become a popular site for young adults to experiment with various party drugs, like ecstasy.

“[The reason] people have problems with ecstasy and push themselves until they die is because they don’t realize how hard they are actually pushing themselves,” Sara said. “When you’re on this drug, you don’t realize [that] at all, so you just keep going.”

Raves, throughout history, have been notorious for its association with mood-altering drugs.  Hyperactivities such as shuffling, a type of dance commonly seen at these events, and laser light shows help stimulate the sensations of ecstasy pills. Though ecstasy use is on the rise, other aspects of the culture have also increasingly become more mainstream.  Recent hit songs, often feature variations of EDM, and shuffling has become so popular that people who have never even attended a rave club can be seen doing the dance.

Already, aspects of this culture have influenced the school. For example, students can be seen wearing “kandi” bracelets, a plastic bead bracelet worn at these events that sometimes have words on them referring to pill names or the letters “XTC.”

Parts of the rave culture can already be seen in school related events. For instance, at the Homecoming pep rally, the Mam’selles shuffled as part of their routine. Also, last year’s TWIRP dance theme was “P.L.U.R”, a common phrase used in the ecstasy culture meaning “Peace, Love, Unity, Respect.” This saying was also used in a quote in the 2011 Marauder yearbook.

“You don’t make anybody do whatever they don’t want to do,” Sara said. ”In that community, I learned that it’s all about love. Even though I knew people were under the influence, it was kind of believable that people actually cared about you. This drug makes you think a lot of things. ”

Electronic dance music was the main type of music that was played. The music, according to Sara, is necessary for ecstasy users to hear while they “roll”, a common term referring to the high people get when they take ecstasy. Sara first tried ecstasy in July 2010 at Afterlife’s Foam Party, her first time at the club. Despite the fact that she had no interest in listening to EDM, she went with her boyfriend and friends.

“I was totally against it in the beginning,” she said. “But a group of my closest friends at the time were all going to be under the influence. My boyfriend gave me the choice, and when we got there, I said ‘Yeah let’s do it.’ I wanted to see what the hype was about.”

She says trying ecstasy wasn’t about peer pressure, but rather her own curiosity.

“If you’re always a sad individual, it’ll just make you happy,” she said. ” Your sensation and your touch [are] enhanced. You don’t notice when you get tired.”

After hours of partying, the next day took a toll on her body and mind. Sara describes it as the “Crackdown” Sunday or Monday because of the after effects. Also called the “comedown,” people will often feel dehydrated, tired, nauseated, sore and experience a lack of appetite.  She says some people, if they can even fall asleep, have lucid dreams.

“I felt depressed afterwards,” Sara said.  “I felt myself getting more stupid and it made me really lazy. I couldn’t pay attention to one thing at a time for a long time. I wasn’t the same me as I was before, and I hated it. That’s why I stopped. And I know that I have so much going for me. It’s basically [that] I miss it, not that I want to, but I miss it.”

After deciding to quit, it took her six or seven months to completely stop from using, taking less and less each time until she refrained from going to Afterlife all together.

John started getting involved in ecstasy at around the same time Sara did, even occasionally partying together. But he was a more frequent user, using an estimated 50 pills over the course of a year. The last time he used was this summer, and though he says he is unsure if he will ever use again, he wanted to take some time to focus on school.

“I just want to take a break from it so it doesn’t get repetitive or boring, but I don’t think I’ll start going again until I turn 18,” he said. “I don’t think I will continue to do it often, like I used to, but it will probably be every once in awhile to have a little extra fun. The only negative thing that is on my conscious is doing drugs in general. That’s the worst. But everything else, it’s just for fun. Like at rock concerts, they do other types of drugs and they go for the music. I like to shuffle, and I’ve always liked the music since I was a little kid.”

Most of the friends he used to roll with have now graduated and some have seemed to grow out of the habit. But not all of them have quit. John knows how difficult it is to be at a rave and not be tempted to take drugs.

“If you’ve done it once at the club or a party and you go again without doing it, it’s really hard not to take it. Because you get bored easily, since you’re not used to standing around all sobered up,” he said. “I tried to do that once. I was there for like two or three hours without rolling, and I bought one at the end to keep myself busy.”

There are several things people do to “boost their roll”. Some people take a Molly, the powder form of MDMA, because it is stronger due to its pure form, compared to the tablets that can be mixed with other substances. And though more frequent users just increase the amount of pills they take at one time, some of the more common “boosters” include drinking orange juice, watching light shows or sniffing vapor rub. However, some people will take extremes to get a better high.  “Rebirth,” taking even more pills after coming down, and blacking out makes the person go unconscious for a short time and according to John, who has personally tried it, it boosts a roll more than anything else.

“People say it’s dangerous,” he said. “I know a couple of people who tried blacking out, but when they gained consciousness they started screaming and had seizures. You couldn’t stop them from having a seizure. That’s the only scary part. I don’t think about not waking up, but I think about how [I could] wake up brain dead or having a seizure. That’s the scary part.”

Both Sara and John have experienced a police raid while at one of these rave clubs. The minimum age limit to enter Afterlife is 17. Sara did not have her fake ID, as she was under 17 at the time, but managed to get out. But John was not as fortunate as he was pulled aside by an officer during the raid.

“First time I went to Afterlife, I was sitting on the warehouse couch and I see cops walk through the warehouse door flashing lights at people,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do, since it was my first time. So I just sat there being calm, and he came over toward me and asked for my ID. He said something to me, but I couldn’t hear because of the music and I was still rolling. He asked if it was my address [on the ID] and I just took [it back] and left as fast as I could.”

The type of students that get involved with this scene vary, according to Sara. She says it is not just the people who are dropouts or do not succeed in school, but people could start experimenting with ecstasy purely by who they associate with. Sara and John both agreed that peer pressure, along with curiosity, were reasons as to why they had tried it themselves. Their reaction, once they had taken it, was that they felt good and just wanted to have fun.

“I think kids have always been risk takers,“ LIGHT counselor Mrs. Karen Gordon said. “If you go to a party like that, you don’t go to hurt yourself, you go to have fun. But some of the things they choose to do to have a good time could change their lives in a very, very overwhelmingly negative way that they might not even be able to imagine.”

Sara believes that as this year goes on, and the EDM becomes more popular, ecstasy users might become more prominent as well. However, she does mention that as the EDM hits mainstream media, it will help bring awareness, so people will know what is going on.

“I know some people that do it every weekend,” Sara said. “It’s become their life. And [they have] done it so much, that it has blocked them from themselves. They don’t realize that it has taken over their lives. They’re probably not going to go to college or [be able to] finish college. “

Taking a break from studying, junior Adrian Escusa poses a slumber party with his Pillow Pets.

Feeling mentally drained and physically exhausted after three consecutive days of no sleep, junior Adrian Escusa was walking through the hallways to his next class when he felt a warm trickle down his face. Bringing his finger to his upper lip, he discovered a stream of blood coming from his nose. After so many sleepless nights, his body was reacting to his lack of sleep.

“School is so [stressful] and there’s so much homework,” Escusa said. “Sometimes I just don’t feel like doing it, so I don’t do it. But in the end I feel like it’s better for me to actually do the homework, [which causes] me to stay up even later.”

Even though social networking sites such as Facebook are distractions, they can also be tools for students to help each other with assignments and lessons. Students have created Facebook groups for certain classes, so that they may help each other and give reminders for assignments and due dates.

“Technology itself could make it where we actually have more time to sleep, but we have a tendency to want to play with everything,” HOSA sponsor Dr. Kevin Hunter said. “It’s all about using the technology, instead of abusing the technology.”

 Social networking sites are distractions for many students, but Escusa makes it a point to not allow unnecessary distractions to keep him from his priorities. Instead of using them to escape from his work at hand, he uses them as a break to relieve stress built up from hours of homework.

“When your brain is about to be fried and you just can’t think anymore, you need a mental break,” Escusa said. “I usually limit myself to five or 10 minutes. Interesting stuff might come up on Tumblr. But I put strict limits on myself, because I get tired of having to sleep at 2 a.m. in the morning every night.”

Sleep deprivation causes many students to nod off in class which puts them at a disability when trying to learn the material. A full sleep cycle is called slow-wave sleep, also known as a deep sleep. When students nap in class, they may wake up feeling groggy, disoriented and even sleepier than before. This is due to sleeping too long and entering slow-wave sleep but not completing the cycle.

                “If you don’t get enough sleep, you’re not going to be able to stay awake in class,” Escusa said. “Not only that, but your thought process will be a lot slower than it would be when you’re well rested. When I fall asleep [in class], I don’t feel rested. When I wake up, I still feel unrested no matter what the amount of sleep that I got.”

                For students that are unable to balance their schedule, sleep is not normally a top priority. However, sleep deprivation is a serious condition and can cause harm to a person’s health and mental thought process. It is important to get enough rest every night so that the body can function normally throughout the day, or else it can lead to further health problems.

                “With less sleep, little things become much more difficult to do,” Dr. Hunter said. “Normality is completely changed to something else. Your behavior becomes abnormally erratic. The more sleep deprived you become, psychological issues will start to manifest themselves.”

To avoid staying up late or get more sleep, eliminate distractions when doing homework or tedious projects by logging off Facebook, putting phones on silent or going to the library. Many students find it easier to study when they are isolated so they can concentrate better. Students should also invest in a planner so they can keep track of assignments and dates. This gets rid of the scenario where students have to get back out of bed upon remembering an unfinished task.

“When I don’t have enough sleep, I’ve got problems,” Dr. Hunter said. “Your brain just doesn’t work the same as it usually does. It’s a scary thing with little sleep. You make big mistakes when you’re really, really tired.”

“Students have legitimate complaints and issues they’d like to address about this school,” Victor said. “I wanted to give them an opportunity to address those complaints to the principals.”

Victor’s six classes sent different topics of letters on how the school can change. This year, his classes wrote about issues regarding the cafeteria, restrooms, the electronics policy, field trips and the seven-period schedule for next year.

“How are they going to know if we don’t tell them how we feel?” junior Tichina Withers said. “I’m glad that we don’t have to worry about [not having the freedom to speak].”

For students like junior Michelle Yochum, the assignment gave her an opportunity to express her opinions on the seven-period schedule next year.

“Especially for [programs like] FTI [and] HOSA, it gets really complicated,” Yochum said. “That is just really what upsets me.”

Assistant principal Jeff Dorman loves the idea of seeing people who want to change the school for the better and challenges students to talk to him to make positive differences in the school.

“All the administrators’ doors are open to anyone who wants to discuss [things] with them,” Mr. Dorman said. “Never feel as though your voice isn’t being heard.”

Junior Darmy Robinson does not think enough students communicate their concerns with administration, because he says he has not seen any changes being made.

“If they listened to us, I don’t think that we would have to write these essays every year,” Robinson said. “I think they would’ve probably done something by now and taken care of it.”

Victor’s assignment gave students some insight on the flaws of the system that once ran America and emphasizes how much freedom the First Amendment right gives students.

“You spend four years of your life here,” Victor said. “You might as well do what you can to make it a better place for yourself.”

Helping an injured athlete, senior trainer Roxsan Kaaa places a bandage on freshman Pamela Ceku's foot.

The crowd of spectators dressed in red and black remain silent as the trainers come out to determine if the player’s ankle injury is serious. Trainers are a player’s first responders to injury and are there to keep athletes healthy and safe. The player limps to sophomore Musahsai Bonner who examines the player’s leg and announces it is just a bruise and that the player will be fine. After wrapping the player’s ankle accordingly in bandages, a giant roar is let from the fans as the player strides back into the game.

“It’s [the trainers’] job to take care of them and get them back onto the field or court as soon as possible,” Montgomery said.

Behind every team, there are people in the background, ready to help if a player gets hurt. Student trainers are educated by boys’ head athletic trainer Cody Montgomery and girls’ head athletic trainer Amy Perez on types of injuries and techniques to wrap body parts and on how to stretch a player.

“Being a trainer] is like being a doctor, without an extra four years of medical school,” Bonner said.

Trainers’ duties include injury assessment, such as icing and wrapping injuries, stretching out players and making sure everyone has the proper medication and equipment needed, such as inhalers. Many times, a large part of training responsibilities can go unseen by players. Now a trainer herself, junior Jazmine Marcum did not know the trainers’ responsibilities when she was in track.

“The girls didn’t have that many trainers last year whenever I was in here, so I just thought trainers brought the water and went when they could to meets,” Marcum said. “But now that I’m a trainer, I see that we do a lot more.”

Trainers are specifically trained for medical prevention and rehabilitation to care for athletic-related health. They must be ready to assist with health issues.

“Without trainers, all the sports teams would be at a disadvantage,” Montgomery said. “They would have to take care of a lot of needs by themselves.”

Even though trainers do get recognized by the coaches, senior Tristan Brown knows that trainers are probably not on most people’s minds during games, unless someone is hurt.

“We’re kind of like a face in the crowd,” Brown said. “When we’re needed, we’re there, and when we’re not we just kind of hang back in the shadows.”

Seaman Andy Clements actively toured Iraq twice during his 21 years of military service.

After enlisting in the Navy for 21 years, technology teacher Andy Clements officially retired in October. However, he continues to teach elective courses for students interested in the technology field.

After attending college, Clements enlisted in the Navy. His unit was construction, allowing him to work for the Rapid Marine Corps. Due to his devotion to the Navy, Clements found himself balancing two jobs: teaching Industrial Arts and participating in construction for the Navy Reserve. Clements says the most challenging part of serving his country is not being able to see his kids grow up and missing his family and friends.

“My dad was an Air Force officer, so he was real excited that I joined the Navy. And my mom was excited [only] when I would come back home,” Clements said. “No matter how bad the job is [or] how hard the situation is, the worst part is being away from family and friends. I’ve missed three Christmases with my kids and my wife. I’ve missed tons of birthdays for my kids, and that’s just time I can’t make up.”

Because the federal government has a law stating that a person who finishes his or her military service term shall be re-employed by the employees in his or her original occupation or job, Clements was able to choose a school in the district where he would like to teach.

“The district said I could go to any school I wanted to,” Clements said. “Basically, if there was an opening, they would let me go there. It’s a protection that the federal government puts in place for people that have to be gone for a year or two because of military duty. I had heard good things about North, I knew some people here, [and] I heard really good things about Dr. Fegraeus.”

Clements has taught technology classes for the past three years and enjoys working with students who are interested in the same field. Not only does Clements prefer to teach elective courses, but he would rather teach technology classes because they are not considered static.

“My field is always changing, the way I taught five years ago is completely outdated,” clements said. “We teach a new different way, especially here at North Garland with the computers that we have. There’s a lot of schools that aren’t set up with the computer assets that we have just because it’s an MST program.”

Because students can receive educational benefits by earning enough money in the Montgomery GI bill to go to the college of their choice for free after they finish a minimum of four years in the military, Clements encourages students to join the military.

“You can get on the job experience [and] learn a skill for free,” Clements said. “You also get the experience of putting that on your resume. [Going to college for free is an] expensive gift the military gives you to walk away from being in the military for four to six years, plus you still get the education benefits. You have all the skills, you have all the experience and you have all the money to go to a four-year college.”

As a retired member of the Navy, Clements is aware that enlisting in the military is difficult and requires much strength. He believes the military, in general, teaches discipline and respect.

“You need to be physically and emotionally ready for that challenge,” Clements said. “It’s not an easy job. Joining is not a cakewalk.”

Strategizing his next move, Miller is one step away from putting his opponent's king in check.

At a young age, junior Braxton Miller could not imagine what it felt like to talk. He never knew the alphabet existed. He thought everyone communicated through sign language. He was diagnosed with chronic otis media, an infection of the middle ear, resulting in long term or permanent hearing loss.

“Because of the opening in both of my Eustachian tubes, infections were coming in, and we weren’t really able to anticipate this until I was older,” Miller said. “So much infection had swelled up that I completely lost my hearing.”

Unaware that he was then considered a special education student, Miller could not understand the reason why people’s lips could move. He thought that the mouth was specifically used for eating. At the age of two, Miller had his first surgery.

“While I was going to the hospital, I noticed people communicating through their mouths,” Miller said. “I didn’t really know it existed until then, and it really shocked me because about two or three hours later, I was going to have my hearing.”

However, receiving his hearing was delayed. Miller’s mother, a single parent, could not afford to pay for the cochlear implants for both of Miller’s ears. Without insurance, the surgery was said to cost about $20,000 to $30,000.

“Because we didn’t have enough funds to actually get the surgery that I needed, we had to hold it off until we accumulated enough money when I was six years old,” Miller said. “I was able to get the surgery to make my hearing a lot better than it was.”

In the meantime, Miller attended a deaf and hearing school. Although he could communicate with most of his friends through sign language, it was difficult for him to communicate with other kids who lived in the same neighborhood as he did. Even after he received his cochlear implants, Braxton says he was still made fun of.

“Once I got my hearing back, I had to get a special hearing aid [to] help the process move along, and the other kids treated me funny because I had a hearing aid on,” Miller said. “I had this thing on the outside of my ear because I needed it. Back then the technology wasn’t that great so only until recently was I actually able to have a cochlear implant. Up until that point I always had a hearing aid around my ear, and they would always laugh at me and say I had giant headphones or tumors around my ears.”

Four years ago, Miller was able to put his hearing aids away forever. Surgeons made an incision in his ears and used small tweezers to insert a device to replace his cochlea, the part of the ear accountable for hearing.

“I also have plastic parts in my ear right now,” Miller said. “If I don’t take care of my ears, I could lose my hearing instantaneously. I can’t really go into many water parks unless I have a lot of ear plugs, but they easily fall out. [I have to] make sure nothing huge gets inside of them and make sure there’s not a lot of build up and things like that.”

Despite the hearing loss Miller suffered in his earlier years, he also faced many obstacles growing up in Memphis, Tenn. Occasionally, Miller found himself making wrong decisions and spending time with the wrong crowd.

“Growing up, we didn’t have that much money, so we had to live in not that great of a place,” Miller said. “[I lived in] the kind of neighborhood where things happened sometimes, and you get into the things that you shouldn’t get into.”

After seeing his best friend pass away due to gang violence, Miller decided to turn his life around after moving to Texas. Miller became more involved in school activities and attempted to make good grades.

“I never cried that much [until] that day he died,” Miller said. “I never reflected as much as I did that day. It was a weird feeling, because I was really sad that he died. But he taught me a lesson as well. I started pursuing academics, because I thought academics was truly the only way to get out of the situation I was in.”

Achievements made by Miller include being a superintendent scholar after scoring high enough on the PSAT during his sophomore year. Miller dedicates most of his time to Math UIL. In the latest competition, Miller placed second in mathematics and second in calculator. But despite the significant amount of effort Miller puts into his academic achievements, he is fonder of helping others in the community.

“I don’t believe academic things are the best things in life,” Miller said. “I believe what you do for others always lasts, so I’d say the best things I’ve ever done [is help] out homeless people. I worked in a soup kitchen, and I am now enrolled in Habitat for Humanity. We basically tear things apart and we build houses for people.”

Miller already has plans for the future. He wants to become a software engineer and make enough money to pay his mother back for everything she has done for him in the past. Because his mother loves him unconditionally and has cared for him all his life, Miller would like to pursue a higher education and take care of his mother, who suffers from high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease and cancer.

“I feel like education is my only way out so I can help my mother when she gets older since she has an illness,” Miller said. “She’s on disability, and she can’t work. She can’t really get up properly because of all her diseases, so a lot of times she feels uncomfortable. But she’s still extremely active. I want to cover everyone that has helped me throughout my life. I want to be able to cover their retirement, because they’ve helped me so many times.”

Competing since she was five, Spanish teacher Margie Perez has earned a variety of medals.

Spanish teacher Margie Perez heard the townspeople whisper that she and her city gymnastics teammates “did magic.” They had just finished performing for a small town’s population in rural Columbia. Her teammates giggled at the comments. It was the first time these people had seen gymnastics before, and they were in awe.

Starting at the age of five, Mrs. Perez was enrolled in gymnastics. Her mom thought it would be a good way to become an organized person. For the next 13 years, Mrs. Perez participated in gymnastics, acquiring 25 medals.

“My parents were always talking to me, and they were telling me ‘You are good at this. We want you to be here. It’s going to help you with your life,’” Mrs. Perez said.

In Columbia, all students are on a percentile rank based on their academic averages. Mrs. Perez’s mom wanted her to always be in the top fifth percentile of all students in all of Colombia. According to Perez, balancing her school workload and gymnastics was very difficult.

“The majority of the time, I was in [the fifth percentile],” Mrs. Perez said. “For maybe two semesters, in grade 8, I was not able [to be in it]. She [would lecture] me about having to be in the fifth percentile.”

Whenever her town, a school, or a university had an event, they often asked her team to showcase their routines. Her team traveled a lot and performed in many different places around Colombia.

“We went to 10 or 12 cities,” Mrs. Perez said. “There was one competition outside of Colombia, in Venezuela. They tried to have the nationals in different cities every year. We went to every National [competition] and we had small competitions and presentations and invitations. We enjoyed it a lot.”

When her team performed at Nationals, it was a very tense time for them. She had to think very positive when it came time for her to compete.

“When I had national competitions, I was a little more nervous,” Mrs. Perez said. “You have practiced [for] many months, many years and you have just one chance to do well. So it’s a lot of tension. I always [thought] that [I was] going to do my best, because I wanted a medal. I also thought ‘This is the only chance I have [to do well].’”

Despite all of the trainings and workouts, Mrs. Perez made mistakes throughout her career. In one of her local competitions, she became too sure of herself and did not concentrate enough. She fell on a floor event. She regrets it a lot, because she could have received a medal.

“We were training for a National competition and I was doing very well,” Mrs. Perez said. “My coach was so proud of me. But in one of the trainings, I fell badly. I broke my ankle. All my friends went to the competition, and I had to stay at home.”

Her parents supported her throughout her gymnastics career by encouraging her to do her best and to not quit.
“Sometimes I [would fight] with them, because I didn’t want to go to the trainings,” Mrs. Perez said. “I wanted to stay at home or go with my friends or go to celebrations and I couldn’t because I had to train.”

She wanted to continue to be active in the gymnastics world by becoming a coach or a judge. She could not because of her college schedule. Instead, she studied English, French, and Spanish at the Universidad Industrial de Santander. She instead turned to her other passion, teaching others.

“It was a great opportunity for me to grow as a person and live with other people, practice a sport and have a discipline in my life,” Mrs. Perez said. “I’m so organized. And I’m so strict with schedules, because that was the way I had to be when I was training.”