High School
Ahhh yes. High School. Not only high school, PUBLIC high school.
“This marked my time as…something?” (A sentence I had before but didn’t finish)
I feel like HighSchool was pretty alright for me. The classic story of love and love lost. An extremely ~futile~?(not the right word-) time in my life. A period where there was a lot of experimentation in figuring out my identity and who I wanted to be.
I started HighSchool as one of the “Caths” (a nickname brewed up by a now good friend- this represented the students that came over from St. Mary’s aka, the Cath-olic squad). I eventually worked my way into a myriad of different social groups (for better, for worse) and ended my HS career with superlatives: Nicest (Shared with my friend Michaela) and Coolest Car (primarily won by my Dad). The rest? Well, the rest is listed below; and it all begins with soccer.
Varsity Soccer
Going into HighSchool, this was one of the things that I was most excited about. I had played at a high level during my club seasons, and this was the chance to prove my worth.
I tied a lot of my identity into playing soccer. (Subsequently, a lot of my worth, but that is a story for later)
Me and one of my best friends (to this day) made the Varsity team our freshman year. Although, an awesome title, it didn’t carry quite the weight it did at other schools… The previous season’s record was something like 1-12…
We were soon to be a part of the starting lineup and grew into leadership roles throughout our careers. Most notably Captain my Junior year and then we were both Captain by our Senior year. (ImagURL)
I learned a lot during my tenure on Buckeye Valley’s club soccer team. Learning the lines between being a leader and friend as well as being a leader and a good teammate. Honestly, I feel like I learned a lot about social politics. How can we get a positive-sum output, even when it seems like zero-sum? Or how do we both acknowledge and balance the wants and needs of both the players and the coaches?
Looking back, there was a surprising amount of stress and drama. I think that it just came with being so passionate about the beautiful game.
Through and through, I reminisce fondly about my HighSchool soccer career. We went from a team that mostly lost, to a team that mostly won!
I give it a 9.5/10. Here is a clip of what is probably going to be the best goal of my life. (Playoff game, tied and in overtime…less than 10 seconds on the clock…enjoy:)
9.5/10
In The Know
Yes. IYKYK.
Long story short, this was a club I was in with some of my friends that basically was a knowledge-based trivia that spanned across many facets.
This was the nerd side of me that knew he valued knowledge and was competitive, but lacked the discipline and studiousness to be a good contender.
#CecilTheLion
8/10
Varsity Football
Yeah, I also played football. Whatsittooya?
I was the kicker my senior year. This was mostly uneventful, however, I got a glimpse into the culture and comradery that football teams do possess. It is very interesting. A sort of tough love where you would get cussed out if you made a mistake, but juxtaposed between some gentleness and love amongst teammates. I repeat, a very interesting dynamic.
Most of the time, I did alright. Similar to our soccer team, our football team wasn’t that great.
Luckily, as a kicker, I was one of the lesser important characters on the team and had a lot of flexibility when it came to practices. Senior year is when I began to get into lifting and a more “bodybuilding” view of fitness. Lifting was something I hadn’t really done or taken seriously until then. I was infatuated with the record-keeping of numbers and competition amongst everyone. I was the kicker. So I didn’t really compete much, heck, I was lifting with the Freshman. Embarrassing as it is, I embraced it and I hope that I made a positive impact on those at the bottom of the bucket with me.
This was one of the experiences that got me into powerlifting in college.
My highlights were making a 47-yard field goal…in a JV game and making a tackle off of a kickoff…after the receiver ran the ball back through the whole team…I, unfortunately, don’t think I have any film from this era, but the plays are able to be relived in my head.
8.2/10
The Holy Trinity
So this is what I have decided to call it. I mean, the name alone makes me want to give it a high rating lol.
To make a long story short…Idk why I did this. Maybe I really did want to push myself? Maybe it was a joke? Or maybe I had a taste of power and was addicted to the feeling of “doing the most.”
It probably was the latter.
In my senior year, I was the Vice President of:
Student Council
National Honor Society (NHS)
The Class
I was in a lot of meetings with faculty lol.
The joke that went around, was that right before graduation, I theoretically ~could~ assassinate the rest of the Presidents, and then by being heir to all of the thrones, become the supreme ruler of the student body…
Anyway! Jokes!
In a more non-hysterical way, I really enjoyed the VP position because I got to have my hands on any piece of pie I wanted. Want to help out on x, y, x project? Sure! Want to do x, y, z for this group? Duh! How about x, y, z, for that? Nah, I’ll delegate and “supervise.”
We did do some cool projects, I got to become close with my faculty and other high achieving students, and I did get to speak at graduation…so overall, it is a 9/10. I give a retroactive 5/10 to past Anthony for getting into the habit of spreading himself too thin and doing “too much.”
Here is some content from that time, probably my speech:
8.7/10