by Valendy Pierre
Lenaia Powell is 6ft tall mastermind! On top of the eight classes she is currently taking (one being an online Valencia class) and maintaining a 3.8 GPA, she is a well-rounded student (having a love for volleyball and being very active in the performing arts department). Lenaia is involved in chorus, musical theater, and acapella here at Apopka. Music has become not only a coping system for her but also a way of life. Lenaia has had a compassion for music all her life and says she gets her taste from her father. As a sophomore, she already knows where she wants to go after high school, which differs from most sophomores. This year has been a rollercoaster ride for her, but she is eager to keep pushing.By the time she graduates high school, Lenaia plans to already have her AA. She plans to go into Art, English, and Music.
How would you describe your taste in art and music now compared to the beginning of the year?
I’d say that I developed more of an appreciation for musical theater…I developed I guess a stronger sense of my voice. The music that I listen to daily hasn’t changed much, but I’ve been listening to low-fi hip pop because of the aesthetic [chuckles], but yeah it hasn’t changed much.
Has your love for volleyball changed in the past couple of months?
Yes! Definitely, because I decided a while ago that I was going to stop playing club. I still want to play volleyball overall because I haven’t been playing since the season [here at Apopka] ended in October, and I kind of miss it.
Do you think you’ve grown mentally from then?
I think that in some ways, yes, and in some ways, no, because—I don’t want to be like that one person, but I do believe I exhibit some of those traits [anxiety and depression] and having those traits, it’s gotten stronger as the year has gone on… In other ways, I think I’ve gotten stronger…
Do you think you changed in the last couple months? How?
I think that I’ve gotten more negative. I’ve been um—I’ve always been kind of negative about some stuff but recently my outlook has been extremely—I don’t know, my outlook on everything has just been extremely um pessimistic…
Do you think these changes are caused by stress from school or home?
Um, yes, because I have been more stress over school because I haven’t been getting—my grades haven’t dropped severely, but they’re not quite as high as they were before, which is stressing me out.
Is there anything bold you’ve done this year?
Well, last period I auditioned for a musical which I typically wouldn’t do [chuckles]…I wouldn’t say there’s something particularly bold that I’ve done… Though I did get a helix piercing right after the new year, and I think it looks pretty bold.
What is your goal for the rest of the school year?
To maintain all A’s because this past quarter was probably—no it was definitely the worst I’d ever performed ever. I also want to focus more on journalism because I read my Eclipse article from the beginning of the school year the other day, and I realized that content was much better than what I’m producing now…