By Victoria Mezera
The Tide is a relatively new club at Apopka High School that was started as a small group, but eventually evolved into a bigger club. The club has about 90 members, and is run mainly by a group of six students. They typically meet on Wednesdays, and you may have seen advertisements for their club meetings on social media such as Instagram or Snapchat. We sat down with Clarissa Arias and asked her some questions to find out more about the club. Clarissa herself is in tenth grade, and aside from being a leader of The Tide, she is the historian of sophomore class council, a member of Beta Club, and does lacrosse.
The Tide is, in the words of a member, a place that promotes happiness and fellowship. They start off every meeting with people there to greet you at the door and welcome you into the meeting. They then begin the actual event by playing games and having speakers talk to the members. At the meetings they have food, and then people just get time to hang out and have some time to be with their friends. Outside of meetings, the club is currently working on doing service activities, and things for the community and for the school. On November 18th they as a club are participating in a school beautification event, but they apparently have a lot more in mind that they want to do for the community.
When asked why she decided to join the club, Clarissa said, “I joined because the main goal of the club is to make Apopka High School a better place, and to spread positivity and love across the school.” She says that she loves that concept, and thought the only way to make a difference personally was to join the club. She loves the message they are promoting and says they “promote something that as a society we are very much lacking right now, which is love and enjoying each other and the time we have together.” Even though with about 90 members the club has a substantial amount of people, she says that more people could definitely benefit from joining the club, because she herself has “walked into a meeting super stressed out from school, and left so much happier because I didn’t have to worry about anything but having a good time.” And that seems to be what The Tide is all about- a place to go and have a good time with people, and get a break from anything that may be worrying you or causing you stress. In her own words, “The Tide is an escape from all the stress that school comes with. I could have the most stressful day and then go to The Tide and just have a good time, eat some good food, and hang out with friends.”
Overall, The Tide is a seemingly positive club at our school. Their goal is to make a safe place for students to be able to go and relax from the stress of school or to cheer up from a bad day. They serve food, play games, have speakers, and ultimately provide a place for kids to hang out with their friends after school. The members of the club are inviting, and welcome newcomers with open arms, no invitation needed. So if you and your friends are interested in The Tide, want a place to help alleviate stress, or just want to have a good time with friends, definitely check out The Tide meetings in room 434.