Alyna Rei is featured as second in our Blog series on Graduating Seniors and Returning Alumni. Penny interviewed fellow blogger Alyna on her longtime PVS Firebird experience.

By Penny Andreas

This week, our blog post theme is focusing on seniors. I chose to have an interview with Alyna Llapitan. Alyna has been here at Palm Valley for six years, or since she was in 6th grade. Here are some of the questions I asked her. 

 How would you describe your overall school experience? 

“I would say pretty eventful; I experienced many opportunities in my life that I’ve never thought of myself doing.”

What opportunities?

“I joined a group called CSF (California Scholarship Federation) in high school and there were events such ice skating and volunteering that helped me break out of my comfort zone.”

What was your favorite part?

“I liked working and hanging out with my friends Christina Lam and Cole Robinson. They are the ones who put me in a better mood everyday. I’ve been friends with them since middle school.”

What was your least favorite part? 

“The stress. When I get stressed, I build anxiety and bad expectations in my head.”

What are some pros and cons of school for you?

Pros:

– “you gain friends that help you even outside of school”

– “there are teachers that are great even outside of class”

– “the lessons you learn that actually help” 

Cons:

– “lots of homework can be stressful”

– “bad days can bring your self esteem down”

– “cramming the night before an important day”

And, finally, is there any advice you would give to other students?

“There are always going to be ups and downs at school, but you just have to accept that it will be fine in the end. :)”

Alyna actually turns out to be graduating a year earlier than her peers. She plans to attend the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, studying pre med coursework. The reason that she graduated early is “I plan on going to medical school which can take a long time and I wanted to start a little earlier.”