(Lopez taking a selfie. Photo Credit: Sylvia Lopez)

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Sylvia Lopez is a Silver Creek High School senior who has some advice to give to underclassmen, but first, let us get into the life of Lopez.

Lopez enjoys a variety of pastimes that many Silver Creek teenagers may relate to, which includes playing online games with friends, taking care of her pet, going for drives, gardening, and reading. Young adult, science fiction, and fantasy are some of her favorite book genres.

Lopez’s friends have the biggest influence on her. She appreciates that her friends prefer to hang out together rather than in larger groups. She says, “We just hang out so it’s honestly fun, so I do not need to worry about all the drama in huge friend groups and people not liking each other. But since it’s just the four of us all the time, they have inspired and influenced me throughout my life and in school. Although it was never directly, I observed how driven they were to work, which encouraged me to start putting more effort into achieving my objectives and dreams. If my friends hadn’t pushed me to pursue my interests in journalism, I wouldn’t be in it today.”

Lopez’s freshman and sophomore years were when she had the majority of her high school experiences. She took part in Winterfest 2021, SXC 2020, and Nonfire. She mentions, “I stopped participating in them again since I disliked the experience.” She enjoyed journalism the most because it allowed her to meet new people, make new friends, gain writing experience, and create special memories during both her junior and senior years.

The majority of the time, Lopez was extremely excited when discussing journalism. Lopez declares, “I adore journalism completely. It’s my favorite class, and the best people are in it.” She likes journalism because it is largely student-run and gives people tons of freedom to work on other projects outside of school as well as for the paper. “I won’t lie; during class, I’ve answered calls, watched movies, slept, and even applied for jobs. I absolutely recommend this class to anyone, and you have so much freedom and free time as long as you’re keeping up with your articles.” She claims.

She advises the freshmen to stay on top of their schoolwork. “Be careful not to overdo it and keep in mind that your health should always come first. Moreover, go to school! It’s possible that missing even one day could be academic suicide. I can still remember feeling so far behind after missing a few days.” She exclaims.

Utilizing the weekends as rest days is one thing Lopez does to keep herself motivated. “I just like to hang out and do activities that I like, whether it’s at a friend’s house or mine. It was nice to be able to do something I enjoyed, and I would always look forward to doing it again in 5 days, even though I still arrived at school on Monday exhausted.”

“You do not have to be involved in everything,” Lopez said as her final piece of advice. “When I tried to participate in every activity during my first year, I realized that it was exhausting me and that there was really no reason for me to do so. It’s a good habit to form now so that you can manage your time and schedule in the future.”

Lopez’s favorite high school memory was participating in SXC with SCKP in 2020. She enjoyed the performance and made a lot of friends there. “I recall arriving early to register and practice before heading out to dinner with my new friends. I felt confident during the performance. I remember being nervous about performing as I had never done anything like it before, but we did fantastically. A few seniors reassured me, before the performance, that it would be very fun and that I wouldn’t actually see anyone in the audience. Afterward, I can still clearly remember receiving love from everyone.” Sylvia mentioned.

After graduating, she plans to get a job for the summer while preparing for college. She intends to enroll at De Anza CC first before transferring to a UC or another college of her choice. “I intend to major in English with a minor in Journalism, so I’ll likely choose whichever college provides the best opportunities for me to attend. Additionally, I want to work toward leasing a home of my own. I can’t wait to finally begin making progress toward my lifelong dream of living independently,” says Lopez.