SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Marissa Rodriguez, a senior at Silver Creek High School, looks back on her high school experience and plans for her future. 

All four years at Silver Creek, Rodriguez has enjoyed playing softball and soccer during the winter and spring seasons. Both the Silver Creek Soccer and Softball team have gotten to the playoffs multiple times with Rodriguez having a large contribution to their success. She says playing sports was one of her favorite moments in high school because all of her teammates in both soccer and softball felt so good to be around. To balance both sports and school, Rodriguez prioritizes getting her homework done any chance she gets whether it be during lunch or break so she doesn’t have to worry about it during practices. 

A motto that Rodriguez lives by is to “do what you are supposed to do” and “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else”- P.T. Barnum. She believes that in order to make a difference no matter how small, you can’t be a part of the ordinary in order to truly make that difference significant. 

A piece of advice Rodriguez would give to incoming freshmen and underclassmen is “Everyone  is so worried about themselves to worry about what you look like or how you talk or whatever it may be so just be you regardless of what others think of you. If someone does dissolve to spread hate, then they are most likely not happy themselves so just show them love or just don’t keep spreading the hate because the world is too full of that already. Also, put yourself into peoples shoes because sometimes you’ll learn things that will benefit you in the long run and it’ll help you react kinder.”

After graduating high school, Rodriguez will miss the friends she has made along the way especially through sports because she has spent more time with her teammates than some people in her 2023 class. The people she has crossed paths with during her time at Creek will definitely be missed. She hopes to continue spending time with her friends during the summer and is excited to travel around the west coast for travel softball. 

After high school, Rodriguez will continue to play softball at West Valley Community College and hopes to transfer to a four year college after her initial two years there.