Author:	Eddie Rojas
	Grade:	Senior
	School:	Lake Washington
	Mascot:	Kangaroos
	League:	KingCo 2A/3A
	Classification:	3A

Why Sports and Activities are So Important This is the time of year where seniors nation-wide are reflecting on who they have become as a person. Students are starting to commit to colleges, knowing that they will end up somewhere completely different and away from home. Working up to change is a big step that we are sometimes not prepared to face but sometimes it sneaks right past us. With four years of high school it is time to reflect and look at all the things that extra-curriculars have taught you and the change that has happened for each individual. For some people sports are just about winning trophies and putting titles up for that year, for some people it’s a way to build themselves up just to be in a better shape than they were before, or some people join clubs or other activities just to try something new. These are more than fantastic reasons to join a sport or an activity and they should be pursued either way, but I think that the most important reasons are the experiences that one acquires while in an extra-curricular. For me personally, I would not give up the experiences that I have had with sports for anything. These past four years of high school have been indescribable with each year peaking over the last. I think that one thing that sports and clubs offer a student is a sense of a second family. In my opinion, this is not only the case here at Lake Washington High School, but I feel that is it safe to say that high schools around the nation are like this as well. Here at LW, I have gained so many experiences, new friends, and memories that will last a lifetime. Not only were sports, specially football being the first high school sport I participated in, a way for me to meet new people and help settle into the new setting, but it also brought me new memories that I will hold forever. One of the most memorable things that I will never forget are the memories of football camps and just being with friends and building a brotherhood between us. From inventing and preforming a synchronized swimming routine to sitting by a bonfire making s’mores to preforming dance routines for the drill team fund-raiser, the brotherhood that we as a team built up was unforgettable and made for jokes throughout the season. What started as strangers on my team have now become some of my best friends that I plan on staying in touch once college begins. So, to the underclassmen, take the opportunity while you still have it. Signing up for any extracurricular will not only help you make friends and find people that have similar interests as you, it will ultimately help you grow as a person. It will teach that working together can be beneficial and sometimes hard. It teaches you that if things go wrong you will have people there to support you. It is an opportunity that nothing else can replace. Although one-day things will have to come to an end, cleats hung up, uniforms turned in, a last competition with a family that you have grown with for four years, one thing that will never fade away as life continues and everyone splits into different paths are the memories. So, while you still can, go out and build new relationships and memories because you never know how valuable things are until they are gone.