I’m Makenzie.

I’m pretty much your average high school senior: addicted to caffeine, occasionally cynical, definitely lacking sleep. That’s me on the surface, but if you’re interested in knowing more, read on.

Most days after school you’ll catch me at sports practices. I play field hockey in the fall, competitive ski racing in the winter and lacrosse in the spring. As much as I love physically playing the sports that I do, nothing compares to my teammates. The laughs and camaraderie we share are what keep me coming back season after season, and that is my favorite part of playing sports. Whether it be talking through my bad days or picking me up when I literally fall down, I know my girls always have my back.

Surprisingly enough, I do have a life outside of the sports world. During the school year, I also tutor through my school’s Peer Tutoring program. I personally love to tutor biology, though the other tutors constantly tease me for it. I don’t know, something about cell organelles and photosynthesis just makes me excited beyond belief.

During the summer, I am a lifeguard at the local pool, where I not only save people from drowning, but I proudly flaunt my ridiculously impressive watch tan. Seriously, if I spend all my time sitting in the sun, I better have something to show for it. And yes, I do brag about it for months after summer is over. It’s my little way of holding on to all the summer sunshine well into the fall and winter.

My one off week from guarding in the summer is also spent in the sun. I can’t get enough of it, I guess. My grandma has a lake house in Washington state which has become the gathering ground for my family. Every July Fourth, the whole clan of us gather from 4 different states to spend the week together, laughing, swimming, catching up over campfires, pretty much anything that lets us all be together. For that one week distance doesn’t separate us, freeing us to strengthen the bonds we share as individuals and as a family.

So, that’s me. I like to think of myself kind of like a collage of various things. Sports, tutoring, sunshine, and family all come together to make up the complex dynamic of my personality. Everything I am, my beliefs, actions, and voice stem from the people who have shaped me.