This week’s Farmer Focus is on sophomore Ruby Arce who takes advantage of the extracurricular opportunities offered by playing tennis and participating in tech theater.  

SNAPSHOTS 

Biggest accomplishment in life: Learning how to love myself

One song you cannot live a day without listening to: “Heartbeat” by Charles Leclerc

If you could be any celebrity, which one would you be?: Xochitl Gomez

If it was the last day of Earth, what would you do? I would appreciate my loved ones and thank God for allowing me to live a life on earth.

One hidden talent no one knows you do: Solving puzzles

ZOOMING IN 

Q: What motivated you to play tennis? Why?

A: “My motivation to play tennis was to try something new. At DeLay middle school, I actually played volleyball, basketball, shot put and discuss. I liked playing those sports, but I never really loved playing them. I had always been interested in playing tennis but never really had I brought myself to try it. That wasn’t until high school I decided to try it and enroll in the beginners tennis class. As soon as I stepped on a court for the first time, I knew I was going to love being here. Soon enough I fell in love with the sport, but I also fell in love with my tennis family.”

Q: What are some special memories you have from playing tennis?

A: “Some of my favorite memories playing tennis was when I won my first official tennis game alongside my doubles partner, Bethzaida Mendoza. It was such a good feeling to win, especially when we won together as a team. We knew we had what it took to win; all of our training and hard work [paid off] for moments like these. Another memory I have from tennis was when we had our 2023-2024 end of the year tennis banquet at Six Flags. It was such a fun day because we didn’t have to be stressed about doing our absolute best. It was a day where we could just be ourselves and have fun without having to worry about anything, or so we thought. That same day around the afternoon it actually started to pour rain, but it was hilarious because we were playing heads up while we waited for the rain to go away and this random group of people behind us started to play with us too. Overall the banquet was such a fun day I spent with all of my teammates that quickly became my friends.”

Q: How has playing tennis affected you in your life in terms of confidence, self reliance, etc.?

A: “Tennis has affected my life in many positive ways. I would say it has definitely boosted my confidence. I say this because I can feel and see my own improvement on the court. When I see this, I think to myself and say ‘Whoa I had no idea I could get to this point in my game.’ In terms of self reliance in tennis, I have to always trust myself. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing doubles or singles, trusting yourself is knowing where that ball is going to go as soon as it leaves the racket. I like putting it that way because it’s true for me; in games after a point I’ve noticed whenever I’m doubtful about a shot, I tend to miss it or place it somewhere I didn’t want to. On the other hand, whenever I’m confident about a shot, it tends to go well. Since playing tennis my self confidence and reliance has changed in a positive way.”

Q: How is it like to balance tennis with your other extracurricular activities? 

A: “At times it can be very stressful balancing everything. Not only do I have to be able to balance extracurricular activities but also homework from all of my core classes and any other activities not related to school. Right now, I currently have a balancing system that helps me. I usually have some free time during some of my classes when I finish my class assignments so I use that time to work on some of my homework. I have everything scheduled in a certain time slot. It helps me focus on one thing at a time instead of doing random things during random times.”

Q: What makes tech theater exciting for you? What made you want to join it?

A: “Getting to know different people that share the same passion of creating things for a show makes tech theater exciting for me. I’ve always loved theater, but I was always someone who was shy that didn’t like to be in the spotlight. Tech theater was a perfect fit for me because I got to create things such as set pieces and props among other things. I got to do all of this while being behind the scenes.  I also joined the program because the tech side of theater is also an important part of putting a show together. There are so many parts of the tech side the actors depend on, and I always thought it was fascinating because most people don’t realize this.”

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of being in tech theater? 

A: “Some of my favorite parts of tech theater would probably be when we get to paint set pieces. It can be messy at times but that’s part of the tech theater experience. I also like whenever we get to go to the prop room on the third floor to find any props we need for our show. The prop room is full of so many props that it makes you realize how many fun or random items can be used for a whole different purpose if you let your imagination flow. One of my special memories was when we learned how to do stage makeup. It was such a fun experience because we got to use stage makeup to do bruises on each other. I remember they came out so good, that me and my friends were telling our friends and family that we got into a ‘fight.’ Seeing their reactions was so funny; we obviously told them later that they were fake.”

Q: What are some valuable insights and lessons, you have learned from being in these extracurricular environments? What is some advice you would offer your past self or others who wish to pursue multiple goals in high school?

A: “Every extracurricular has taught me something different, but they all have taught me no matter what happens I will always have a group of people that will always have my back and support me through everything. Some advice I would tell my past self is to never be afraid to try something new, you never know what the program has to offer if you never actually give it a chance. To other students in high school who want to pursue multiple goals in high school, I would tell them to have a balance system. Learning how to balance extracurriculars, classes and homework is such a huge part of setting academic goals. It is possible to achieve these goals, but it will be a lot harder to accomplish if you don’t have a balance system that works for you.”