Freshman Emma Loflin is new to the high school scene this year. Formerly, she attended Smithland Elementary School and Skyline Middle School where she was a part of the Dual Language program. She has found a rhythm in high school so far, balancing her time between school, dance and being a part of color guard. Loflin is most excited about gaining new experiences through taking the Dance 1 class offered at the high school.

“I [have] dance class every other day,” Loflin said. “[I love] that you get to move around and it’s just fun.” 

A major part of Loflin’s high school experience so far has been being a part of color guard outside of school. This combines her love for dance with new elements of movement.

“Color guard is awesome. [It has] great people, [it’s] really fun, [there’s] more dance and flags. I’ve always wanted to spin flags, since I was little,” Loflin said. 

Doing color guard outside of school has exposed Loflin to a whole new community that she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. As a freshman, it is often intimidating to get involved in new activities. Going to band camp before school started helped Loflin form bonds with people and make the transition into high school easier. Making friends and having supportive family members was a huge help for Loflin.

“My mom is really awesome, Mrs. Linden is pretty awesome and the color guard helped out because I was able to understand school a lot better,” Loflin said.

Traveling is a big part of Loflin’s life and family. This year her family was able to take a trip to Iceland to go on a five day backpacking trip.  

“Sheep,” Loflin said “It’s like cows here [in Virginia], but sheep there. [There were] so many sheep and sheep are awesome and so cute”. 

Loflin’s favorite travel memory was going to Costa Rica. She was able to put her Spanish skills to use, since she’s been in the Dual Language program since kindergarten.