Time out! Ep.7: Celine He
Examining senior Celine He’s return to Color Guard during her senior year
Senior Celine He performs in Varsity Winter Guard’s 2023 show, The Moment We Never Met.
June 5, 2023
KP: Hi everyone, my name is Kalyani Puthenpurayil and welcome to Episode 7 of Time Out! Each episode we will be diving into the sports scene here at MVHS and explore the journeys of athletes from various sports.
KP: When did you join Color Guard?
CH: I joined in my freshman year, fall season. That’s when a lot of my friends were interested so I went with them. I thought it was really fun so I joined in the fall season but then after that, my parents [said] I should focus on my studies and also COVID hit, so I was out of guard.
KP: What were your feelings like in your freshman year. Do you remember [if] you were super excited to join Color Guard? How was that?
CH: It was something that I’ve actually never seen before. In eighth grade, [MVHS] had Color Guard members come to Kennedy to perform for us, and I was like, “Oh, what are these flags?” And the saber and the rifle, I thought it was really cool. And I thought, “Do I want to be part of this?” I did dance before and I was thinking of auditioning for the dance team instead, but then after seeing the performance, I was inspired. I thought it was really cool to have both equipment and dance together, and I thought, “Oh, maybe this is what I want more.”
KP: What was the main thing that motivated you to join [during] your senior year?
CH: The moment it hit me was like, “Oh, if I don’t do it this last season, I will never be able to, like I might never be able to be in contact with Guard again.” So I was like, YOLO — you only get to live once, so why not do it since it’s the last semester of high school?
KP: How did your winter season [go] after you came back?
CH: So at first I was a little miserable, because I never did a winter season so it’s kind of different from fall season. [During] fall season, you have all the marching band people, you’re on the field, but for winter season, you’re indoors in the field house or the gym. . I could say it’s more competitive than a fall season since there’s also JV and Varsity, and I got in Varsity, so it’s way more competitive and I have to put more time into it. It was a little hard to catch up in the beginning, but after practicing and getting to know the team more, it got more fun.
KP: What would you say about the relationships that you’ve built with the people in Guard?
CH: So for all the seniors in guard right now, I used to be really close with them in freshman year, but after I quit, I [didn’t] hang out as much with them, but this season, it brought me back to the group. We were remembering all the stuff we did before. I felt very welcome actually because everyone actually knew each other before, but I was kind of new since it’s been such a long time. I was really glad that I got to meet a lot of [underclassmen], I felt like I just had more friends and [a bigger] family.
KP: Were there any challenges that you took on during the season?
CH: I think there was one toss that I had to do [where] I toss a double and I have to turn under it, and there was this one time during a sectional during lunch that I accidentally hit my head. So there was one or two weeks where I was so scared to do it again because I was so scared I [was] going to hit my head again. That was a challenge, but I was pushing through it and my coach [kept] telling me small details I [had] to fix to make sure I [didn’t] hit myself again. And I think just like after like two weeks, I got over that [fear] of getting hit and it was OK.
KP: Is there a lesson that you learned from this season?
CH: Communication. I didn’t know all the underclassmen when I first joined, so I was like, “Oh, do I want to get to know them?” And then after bonding, and some Guard events where we just [sat] down and [talked] or we [had] some fun, it was interesting because I get to talk to the underclassmen about how they’re doing in Guard or school or anything now. And also with coaches, communication, we talk about how [we can] make our show better. The communication went very well, and I think I got better with communicating as well as being more confident since we perform on a stage in front of so many people.
KP: Would you say that’s part of the dynamic changing, because previously you had experience being the freshman and now you’re the senior?
CH: Instead of being the newbie, like asking everything and whatever, now in the team, I felt more like, “Oh, I have to take care of those underclassmen,” from a kid to growing up.
KP: Do you have a favorite memory from Guard?
CH: I think it’s the practice before the home show or maybe the one before. It was really funny because we did a senior run and then we did a staff run, so I got to see the staff during our show. There’s only like four of them, [and] not all of them know all the choreo, but you [could] see them trying to remember what was in the show, and it was quite funny.
KP: How do you feel about your time on Guard at MV ending soon?
CH: I can say that the season went by really fast, faster than I thought. We had three practices every week and it felt really long when you’re at a practice, like, “Oh my God, why is this taking so long?” sometimes. And now, I’m just thinking about it, [and] I really enjoyed the time [spent] with the members [when we were] at practice. It’s kind of the same feeling as, “Oh, I’m graduating. I’m leaving this school.”
KP: That was it for episode 7 of Time Out!. Thank you so much Celine for joining me on this episode. I’m Kalyani, and thanks for tuning in.
