Diving on in
Freshman Lila Waters packs her freshman year full of extracurriculars
February 10, 2022
Although the last two years of school have been a wild ride, freshman Lila Waters chose to dive right into her high school years by participating in several after school activities and higher level classes.
“It seems weird to me,” Waters said. “I still feel like I’m in eighth grade, just walking around in a different building.”
Waters has packed her schedule full her freshman year by taking all honors classes and getting a year ahead schedule in her world language class and two in math. She also participates in orchestra and represents the Bulldogs on the swim team.
“I probably spend about eight to ten hours a week on school work outside of class,” Waters said. “My hardest classes are probably Spanish Ⅱ Honors and Algebra Ⅱ Honors.”
Waters is the daughter of Hazelwood Middle School principal, Dr. Jessica Waters, and says that her mom being a principal helped solidify the importance of education early on.
“To me, school means getting good grades and being involved in extracurricular activities,” Waters said. “I think having my mom as a principal made me want to get good grades even more.”
Besides taking difficult classes, Waters has also continued many activities she has participated in since middle school or even earlier. To me, school means getting good grades and being involved in extracurricular activities. — Lila Waters//09
“I’ve been involved in swimming since third grade,” Waters said. “High school swim feels more serious and important compared to earlier swim teams.”
Waters says to be on the swim team members must go through rigorous training in order to perform better at meets.
“Training is hard and it hurts, but it’s worth it,” Waters said.
In addition to swim, Waters was also involved in the pit for the production of Beauty and the Beast that is going to the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington in June. Waters will also be in advanced, or chamber orchestra, as a sophomore.
“It feels good to be part of something so big,” Waters said. “I am planning on going [to the festival] and I am excited to play in front of a huge audience.”
Although she is not exactly sure of what she wants to do when she is done with school, Waters hopes to branch into the movie-making business.
“I would like to go into the film industry [after school],” Waters said. “I like movies and I really like learning about how they are made.”
Waters likes to watch movies and television shows when she needs a break from studying and is extremely interested in how they are put together. She also thinks about composition when watching her favorite movies.
“Avengers Endgame is my favorite movie because it’s a cinematic masterpiece,” Waters said. “Even though the movie is sad, it is put together beautifully.”
One day, Waters hopes that she can film a movie based on the novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman.
“I would turn Unwind into a movie if I could adapt any novel,” Waters said. “I feel like it’s such an interesting book and it can only be made better by turning it into a movie.”
Most recently, Waters competed in the ISSMA District Solo and Ensemble where she received a Silver solo rating and a Gold trio rating. Waters also represented the Bulldogs on February 3 at the sectional meet where she swam her personal best in both the 100 meter backstroke and 200 IM.
