Arlington High School - Simba Kali Yearbook (Riverside, CA)

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Livin g Life We have the ability to play complex, we just don ' t work on it enough, Jim Hart, junior. B bra ve enough to Live Life Creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intu- ition. You can ' t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you ' re doing. What you ' ll dis cover will be wonderful. What you ' ll discover will be your- self. ' ' Alan Alda. Jim Hart and Bekki O ' Con- ner, both juniors, are two stu- dents who have dared to live life creatively. They have taken their talents and ventured into the world of writing and per- forming music. In September of ' 87 Jim joined a band with some friends from Poly High School who had been playing together for about eight months. The members of the band are: Adam Silvas (vo- cals), Adam Rowland (guitar, vocals), Jim Hart (bass), Mark Herman (keyboards), and Dion Denti (drums.). The band practiced their five original songs and about 30 oth- ers they knew an average of about once a week. Jim said, There ' s not much talking about what we ' re going to do, we just do it. He also thought, We need to experiment more with our songs, technique, style, that kind of stuff. I look for other sources for music, because our songs kind of sound the same, Jim commented, but I don ' t want to have to rely on others, because that wouldn ' t be us. Another creative musician was Bekki O ' Conner. Bekki had been writing music since she was in eighth grade. Along with writing songs, Bekki also played the keyboard and guitar to accompany her lyrics. Most of Bekki ' s performances were at concerts with the Arlington choir, singing with the choir as well as giving solo performances. Bekki said that her songs were, More like an outlet for my emotions, but she had an outside source approve her work. My best friend was my music critic, and if she didn ' t like a song, I got rid of it. Bekki ' s emotional expressions in her music were very personal to her. Her originality was important, as she explained, I don ' t want anyone else to sing the music that I write before I do, because they don ' t know what I ' m feeling. Jim and Bekki ' s armor as they stepped into the wilderness of their creative selves was their originality and talent. They opened the door to their creativity and let it loose upon the world. by Doug Corbitt tices one of the song.9 she wrote Bekki had been writing songs since she was in the eighth grade. JIM HART BEKKI OdONNER • 55

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B33S3B b, i c« i .mg BE55EEEMJSS5EB with the Arlington choir. Many of Bek- plays his bass guitar. Jim played in a ki ' s performances were at choir con band with some friends from Poly High certs. School. UiaaMiOimai lim Hart parking lot at lunch. Jim attended Ar- lington for three years. iNar.nyutpffl i, m i school. The band sometimes practiced after school and on weekends. 54 • STUDENT LIFE

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Spirit-Lifters Strive To |£ I felt needed. It was fun and exciting; a chance to get closer to everyone.: Michelle Roesler, Ban- M eaps, jumps, and man y m dance steps were what £ the drill team and cheerleaders did to the best of their abilities. To perfect these skills the drill and cheerleading teams worked hard long hours for many competition. It usually took two or three months to prepare for competition, stated Shelly Roemer, senior drill team member. Rehearsing took hours of dedication and labor. I practiced on my own time at home when I could, stated Jenny Henshaw, junior, and Lori Kolterman, sophomore, both drill team members. The cheerleaders also took many months To prepare for a competition it took a couple of months, but if we already had the cheer down, then it didn ' t take as long to get it to- gether, explained Crystal Al- veti, cheerleader. Individual students also per- formed in competition. Steph- anie Gordan, drill team mem- ber, attended the California State Competition and placed sixth out of forty girls. In team competition varsity and J.V. cheerleaders both placed supe- rior and poms placed excellent at the R.C.C competition. Also, Melissa Penticoff was chosen to represent Arlington ' s drill team in Miss Drill Team compe- tition. The active drill team was involved in two other firsts this season. They hosted a drill team competition on campus and in March the drill team per- formed in the Los Angeles Lakers half-time show. The team was chosen by the Forum Activity Commission based on their performances through their drill team season. by Gina Catdenlla mga Jennifer Martinez cheers at a football game. Performing at a football game was also another way for sharpening their skills. —3833 neerlead ing squad takes a break at the home- coming carnival. The team gave each other moral support throughout the year. 56 • STUDENT LIFE