Yuba City High School students look for motivation

As the days begin to drag into bleak winter in the Valley, students around Yuba City High School begin to follow suit. After hitting the ground running for the first part of this semester, keeping the momentum up and trudging through the murky swamp that is another two grading periods seems nearly impossible.

Motivation, however, can be found camouflaged in many forms. For some students, especially the senior class — including seniors Sohila Sandher and Ria Sager — the pressure of college weighs heavy as motivation.

"U.C.'s, U.C.'s, U.C.'s," Ria said, referring to the rigorous University of California admission requirements, when asked what would drive her through the next 12 weeks.

For underclassmen, though, college is not a near enough fate to use as fuel, so they must find motivation elsewhere. A great alternative is found in both school-sponsored sports and club sports within the community.

"Lacrosse. If I don't keep my grades up, my parents won't let me play. It keeps me going," said Bearson Smith, a YCHS sophomore who plays on the community-sponsored Chiatku Lacrosse team.

Even sports nonparticipants can find the fun in them. When questioned about her motivation, sophomore Danielle Vandiver said, "Game days. They're really fun, and they give me something to look forward to at the end of the week."

The recent Blacklight/Dubstep Homecoming Rally, homecoming game and Blacklight Dance at YCHS were huge attractions for students — and without a doubt a huge incentive for students to get through the previous weeks.

Though cold winds and rains are on the threshold, the autumn weather is inspiration for some students, like senior Lucas Sanchez. "The beautiful weather and feeling of the season get me through this difficult portion of the year," Lucas said.

During my interviewing, I found a student who seems indifferent to the progressing difficulty of the year, and he stands alone but firm in his opinion.

"It's really not that hard. As long as I stay on top of everything, school isn't really a stressor," sophomore Jared Seamons explained to me.

It seems that no exterior motivational force is needed for some students to get through the weeks. To sum it all up, senior Alec Riley said, "We just need to keep our eyes on the prize and realize that, in the end, all of this work will be for the better."

Whether you dream of attending a university or simply graduating from high school, "Any circumstance will benefit from the work we accomplish here," Alec said.

It's refreshing and enlightening to learn from these students who seem to have found their own, unique motivation for accomplishing this single, ubiquitous task of getting through the weeks here at Yuba City High School.

As the days drag on, we can only hope that the words we share with others will still hold significance to ourselves and can propel us to whatever summit we dream to reach.

Greg Geraldo is a senior at Yuba City High School. His column appears every six weeks in Education.