People yelling my name is a bonus

This week has been probably the busiest one I’ve had so far this year.

Usually, when I get tired after a busy week, it’s the “I’m tired of working all these hours” kind of fatigue. It’s the kind of tired which has a person thinking about relaxing vacations while also  hoping the next week isn’t as busy.

These past few days weren’t like that. It was more of a “it’s been a long day” kind of tired. There wasn’t any point throughout the day when I felt any kind of short-term burnout (outside of Saturday when I had a pretty bad headache, but I had only two things to cover that day.)

About 80 percent of my assignments were covering something at either JWP, St. Clair, or Trinity. A lot of it had to do with students. I actually enjoyed the two trips I made to St. Clair, the three to JWP, and the one to Trinity. I think part of it is that I take pleasure in publicizing what students do.

I’m at that weird age where I’m an adult and I’m talking to many fellow adults as my job. Yet I’m still closer to the age of the high school students than the parents. Sometimes, I forget that I’m almost 25 when I am on the basketball court cheering for the Bulldogs (sometimes a bit louder than the other fans).

Looking back, I can’t believe it’s been nearly seven years since I graduated. When I take only a glance, it doesn’t feel like seven years. But then again, when I take a deeper dive, it does feel like that much time, especially with the slow march that was 2020 and most of 2021 because of Covid.

I think seeing the students do what they do — watching Waseca’s one-act play, seeing the JWP fans cheering on their team, or watching St. Clair’s girls’ basketball team shooting the lights out on their home court — brings me a bit of energy that helps me get through the week.

I feel like I can almost relate to the students a bit more, too. Yes, it’s been seven years since I’ve been a high-schooler. But it’s a bit harder to talk to an adult in their 30s or 40s about theater than it is talking to a junior who is currently in a musical. Also, I’m part of Generation Z just like the students.

Last week, I covered a children’s author and illustrator named David LaRochelle who visited Hartley Elementary School and gave a presentation on what his job is like — the good and the bad. When I interviewed him, he mentioned something along the lines of his stories making him feel like he doesn’t have to grow up.

I think covering these kids and what they do gives me a feeling that I’m making up for lost time during high school: I wasn’t a very loyal fan back then, attending a total of maybe six basketball games. My then-girlfriend was in two of them; she and I went to another one as a date, and the rest were because I was in pep band. I’ve gone to about the same number of games in the past two weeks as during my entire high-school career.

I thought I would never enjoy basketball as much as I do. Well…nowhere near as much as hockey. I still don’t understand what is a foul and what isn’t; I sometimes think the refs guess like I do. But it’s a fun thing to watch, especially when it’s a close match. Having people yell my name to get my attention is kind of a bonus. (I’m still getting used to that.)