The crowd goes wild in the towering stands above the arena. Junior Mariana Madina looks up only to see the bright, white flashing lights covering the sky. Color guard has won fifth overall in the world. She barely has time to embrace the victory before her mind flashes to an equally important topic. She suddenly remembers, her yearbook spread is incomplete and deadline is tomorrow morning.

Being in a Media Production class in middle school opened a path for her future passion in the world of journalism.

“So when I got to high school I wanted to get a stab at what I’d been missing out on and a whole new love for it emerged,” Madina said. “I’m incredibly passionate about it and it’s definitely something that is going to inspire my career.”

The combination of the athleticism and dance provides a clear route to the introduction towards color guard.

“So with the magic of a color guard audition flyer and my curiosity about the girls ‘who danced with flags’ I showed up to auditions and the journey began,” Madina said. “And I just grew passionate about it because guard feeds my dancer self, it was the first athletic activity that I felt was my calling, and I really felt like I had found a little home with my teammates.”

Relishing in the glory of an accomplished product, Madina recognizes what she has created and takes pride in it.

“Also, seeing my first finished spread as an editor and seeing the development of it from what it had originally been was a pretty breathtaking moment for me that made me love it even more,” Madina said.

Going to practice day after day can start to become tedious if not for the outstanding results at the end of the day.

“And well, there’s also the fact that we got 5th in the world this season, which is pretty cool,” Medina said. “I’m not really one about scores and placements, but to see how all of hard work paid off was one of the best rewards you get from the activity.”

Maintaining two huge commitments in school can also come with it’s cons.

“It was really interesting because I would notice how I would subconsciously switch gears between the two activities, or three if you count school,” Madina said. “My brain would have to take a breather and say “okay no more thinking about spreads, it’s guard time” and vice-versa. I almost feel like it was like changing the channel on myself.

With the hecticness of balancing school, guard, and yearbook, being a procrastinator is a nearly impossible feat.

“Mariana’s work ethic is very admirable, she always has her priorities straight and gets her stuff done when she needs to,” sophomore Jojo Wei said.Getting lost within an activity can be very common, despite that fact being confused has remained to be seen.

“She’s very passionate for both and puts her heart into both,” senior Jamie Dorsey said. “When on deadline she’s solely focused on yearbook but when competitions come around she’s all about guard.”

However, the difficulties from each of the activities don’t compare to the instant gratification that comes with dedicating your heart and soul to a passion.

“There were definitely sacrifices I made on both sides, but to see the great outcome of it and see how I was capable of doing it all was so worth it,” Madina said.