by Katie Barton | news editor

Electives can be stressful, they take a lot of time, money, and dedication, and sometimes it makes some people wonder what makes these students want to stay.

“It’s so time consuming and just being there for the team and all of that,” junior and Belles member Sam Valez said. “You really do need to have a passion and a love for the art of it.”

Extracurricular activities can be intense, especially when students are also taking difficult classes.

“The long hours definitely make it hard and there is really no time outside of theatre,” junior and theatre light head Ellie Eckles said.

Not only are these students spending lots of time at these extracurriculars, they are also taking on a lot of responsibility at these practices.

“I think that some of the pressure needs to be taken off the kids,” Eckles said.

Last year, because of the pandemic, extracurriculars weren’t practicing as intensely as they normally do, which may have made this year seem more stressful.

“There’s a big difference in how much work we’re putting into it and the amount of practices we’re having and the discipline and all that, it’s way different,” Valez said. 

Even students who love their extracurriculars can lose passion for it sometimes.

“Sometimes the practices get hard,” Valez said. “But then you realize the coaches doing it for the love of it.”

Having people who don’t really care about putting effort into their electives can have negative impacts on the team as a whole.

“It affects it with the energy we put into it and just honestly the teamwork and the family behind it,” Valez said. “It’s not all the way there and you can definitely tell.” 

In general, you should be careful when you pick your extracurriculars because you don’t want to pick something so consuming when you don’t really have a passion for it.

“Theatre is a lot of hard work and persistence so it’s definitely not for everyone,” Eckles said.