Alana Estrada is a freshman excited to begin her first year of journalism. Estrada has enjoyed playing softball for the West Valley Slammers since she was six and has enjoyed horseback riding a mare named Annie at The Acres since 2021. Growing up with her dad playing ‘80s music around the house, Estrada has come to love ‘80s music, with her favorite artist being the band Depeche Mode. In her free time, Estrada likes to read and write in the fantasy genre. Some of her favorite books include the “Keeper of the Lost Cities” series by Shannon Messenger and the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series by Rick Riordan. Estrada has loved reading since kindergarten and she finds it calming and easy to get lost in. It also allows her to relax and destress from reality. Estrada appreciates the advice that it is important to not just enjoy the destination but also the journey as she finds herself rushing toward outcomes rather than waiting and going with the flow. Not rushing or overthinking allows ideas to come to Estrada naturally and is more rewarding to her. Estrada joined journalism hoping to polish skills such as responsibility and being timely. As a reporter this year, Estrada hopes to bring more attention to society’s skewed expectations for teenagers to grow up quickly. Estrada found the post-COVID-19 snap-back to reality to be alarming with severe expectations for the generation who entered the pandemic as kids to leave it mature.