Baby Boomers to generation X to generation Y to generation Z. The era of generation Z meets the world of high school. Specifically, for me this includes my junior to senior year. The year is 2024, society has forgotten about Covid for the most part and all the news revolves around is the election. 

Waking up at 4:30 three days a week isn’t always easy being a student-athlete. Arriving at school before any of the teachers, going to practice and having to shower at my high school isn’t the typical life of a high school student. I practically spend more time at school than I do at my own house. 

Constantly having to get in a cold, depressing pool and swim mindlessly for multiple hours a week isn’t something I would categorize as “fun” yet there is something holding me back from quitting the sport. Swimming is all I have ever known and is a part of my routine so why take that away? 

While I have to play the role of an athlete-student for nine practices a week in a varsity sport, my priority is a student-athlete. My grades will always be my first concern regardless of my extracurricular activities. 

As a student of 2024, my life doesn’t consist of a math worksheet for homework every night like it was in middle school. I am a senior. My colleagues suffer from senioritis, get to skip school, take easy classes, and cheat on assignments. But in my mind, I don’t earn this title till I have graduated. This serves as a precedent that I have set for myself for the last three years of high school and a newfound title will not change that. 

My life in this generation is a tornado of applying to college, being captain of my swim team, earning good grades, and volunteering all while maintaining a social life. Although I don’t have to walk to school everyday like my parents or study with only textbooks and handwritten notes, I have to adjust my life according to the era of technology. Phones go in the phone pockets, earbuds have to be taken out of ears, and computers have to be charged and kept on certain tabs. 

This new adjustment to a student-athlete has worried many in this new generation with the constant changes. Yet, I still maintain the same demeanor and morals as a successful 2024 student-athlete.