What Students Do For Fun
Adventure-driven students from the past and present tell their favorite activities both in and out of school.
More stories from Clay Vesser
Graphic by Clay Vesser
PAST
School takes up most of the day. However, the majority of a student’s time is not just spent in school, but also waking up, getting ready, riding the bus or driving, coming home, doing homework, studying and participating in any after school activities, clubs and sports. While education may be the emphasis of a student’s life, it is not the only part. Time is needed to relieve stress, relax and spend time with family and friends.
Sophomore Connor Byczek asked his dad, Mike Byczek, a 1986 ACHS alumnus what he did for fun after school.
“My dad told me that when he was in high school, he liked to attend or play sports. He played football but liked to watch the basketball team and he liked to hang out with his friends,” Byczek said.
In the past, many students chose to watch and/or play sports when not studying, and/or simply enjoy the outdoors and the fresh air while spending time with friends. After school activities also presented an opportunity not only to get a scholarship, or have a sport/club to put on a transcript, but to enjoy being with friends.
In the 79th volume of the 1995 Sequoia, class of ’98 student Josh Mack said, “I think after-school activities make school worthwhile and fun. Being in basketball is preparing me for my goal of playing college ball.
PRESENT
For many students at Antioch Community High School, there is more to life than school. In a small survey conducted by the Tom Tom, 20 out of 62 students, said that their social life is more important than school. This seems realistic, since many students are on social media all the time not only at home, but in school as well.
Senior Morgan Musich said, “I go to cheer practice, and then I come home and eat dinner with my family and then I watch my favorite show, Gossip Girl, with a large bowl of popcorn.”
Watching TV and spending time with family is a great way to pass time and relax when not doing homework or studying. Hanging out with friends is also a common after school activity.
“The second I get home, I pick up a guitar or find my way to my band mates house. I’ll play for hours a day in the privacy of my home or in our band’s practice spot to write songs or get ready for upcoming shows,” junior Mark Segura said. “Playing guitar and singing allows me to express how I feel in any way I please. All I need are a few hundred dollars for equipment like an amp, pedals and, obviously, a guitar.”
For teenagers, like Mark, they occupy time in the present by focusing on the future, which is a great way to spend time and relax when not studying.
FUTURE
Technology is considered by nearly everyone to be the main focus of the future. How will this affect future generations of students? Some students believe that technology will be what kids gravitate towards in the future. Education, jobs and entertainment will be run by technology, and therefore, technology will be what kids use to occupy their time inside and outside of school.
“I think kids in the future will do more things that involve technology and less social interactions because that’s how kids are becoming now,” junior Adam Regalado said.