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LakeForestLeader.com SOUND OFF
the lake forest leader | December 27, 2018 | 13
Social snapshot
Top Stories
Top stories from www.lakeforestleader.com
as of Dec. 23
1. IHSA overhauls football scheduling in
‘historic change’
2. Police Reports: DUI among charges after
man found sleeping at the wheel
3. Girls Gymnastics: Cekay, underclassmen
finding right balance for Scouts
4. Boys Basketball: Scouts struggle to hold off
Benet Academy’s strong offense
5. Boys Swimming: Lanigan places 3rd, gains
experience in 100 free
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Lake Forest Parks and Recreation posted
this photo on Dec. 14. Lake Forest Parks
and Recreation posted this photo to wish
residents happy holidays on behalf of the
Wild Life Discover Center.
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Check out LB Pre-K “The reindeers were
hard at work pulling Santas in their sleighs
to deliver presents in Wellness class.
#LB65 #prek @LPEtchr” @LBPreK.
On Dec. 20 Lake Bluff Pre K tweeted
about “reindeer” working hard to pull
“Santa” in their sleighs.
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From the Editor
Expanding my horizons
Alyssa Groh
alyssa@lakeforestleader.com
One of the very
first sports I was
interested in as a
young girl was gymnastics.
I remember watching the
Olympics on TV and was
amazed by all the flips the
gymnasts were able to do.
I also took an early interest
in gymnastics because
two of my cousins were
competitive gymnasts
growing up. I watched one
cousin who excelled at
rings, and one whose forte
was the beam and floor.
I always looked up to
them and wanted to do
some of the cool tricks
they were able to do.
So, at the young age of
5, I decided to try out gymnastics.
I spent one season
in a class attempting to
touch my toes, do the splits
and complete a beautiful
cartwheel.
To my surprise, it is not
as easy as it looks.
I could not touch my
toes for the life of me. I
could not do the splits no
matter how hard I tried.
And, while I technically
was able to do a cartwheel,
it was not pretty.
So, after one season I
quit.
And I regret it every day.
To this day I still wish I
would have kept working
at it. It is very rare that the
first time you try a sport
you are good at it. But, at
the age of 5 I already had
an interest in waterskiing
(and I was naturally good at
that), so I gave up and spent
the rest of my life doing
competitive water skiing.
Still, gymnastics is my
favorite thing to watch
during the Olympics.
Since joining the team at
22nd Century Media, I try
to challenge myself each
year by learning something
new, taking on a challenging
story or thinking
outside the box.
This year I wanted to
try something new, and
although it took me until
the second to last week
of the year, I went out of
my comfort zone and took
photos at a sports event
last week.
As I was looking at what
sports to cover for this
issue of The Lake Forest
Leader, I saw Lake Forest
High School gymnastics
team was hosting a holiday
quad. Immediately my
eyes lit up — I wanted to
get that covered.
As I searched for a freelance
photographer to cover
the quad and was turned
down a few times, I decided
to take it on myself.
Now, I must confess I
have not been to a high
school sporting event since
I was in high school more
than six years ago. And,
on top of that I have never
been to a gymnastics meet.
So, I was a little apprehensive
about the meet.
I walked into the gym
last Thursday and immediately
thought, “What did I
get myself into?”
Panic had set in.
There was gymnastics
equipment everywhere, and
it was blocked off. How
was I supposed to get good
photos from the bleachers?
As I began to look
around, I also realized
most of the schools competing
had similar school
colors, therefore all the
leotards were a form of
blue. How would I figure
out who Lake Forest was?
My next realization
was that they don’t wear
numbers or announce who
is competing in the events.
Great, how could I ever get
the names of the girls for
my photos?
So, I grabbed a program
and sat on the first row
of the bleachers for a few
minutes to observe how
this thing worked.
I quickly realized it was
so obvious who the Lake
Forest girls were. So, I
got up and took on the
“sidelines” to begin taking
pictures of vault. Let me
tell you, it was not easy
to take photos from the
sidelines. So, I asked the
athletic director if I could
jump over the ropes and
go figure
2.91
get into the action, and to
my surprise he said yes.
So, I spent the rest of the
night attempting to photograph
the team doing flips,
spins and jumps.
It is not easy. They move
so fast it is so hard to get a
good shot.
But, as time went on I
figured it out and was able
to walk away with a few
solid shots.
While these may not be
award-winning pictures
on Pages 32 and 30 of
this week’s Lake Forest
Leader, they are something
I am proud of. These
pictures took a lot of hard
work and put me outside of
my comfort zone.
When was the last time
you challenged yourself
with something new at
work or a hobby?
Challenging ourselves
and learning new skills is
important and keeps you
interested in something
you do on a daily basis.
An intriguing number from this week’s edition
Lake Forest District 67 approved the
2018 tax levy with a 2.91 percent
increase from last year, Page 3.
The Lake Forest Leader
Sound Off Policy
Editorials and columns are the opinions of the author. Pieces
from 22nd Century Media are the thoughts of the company
as a whole. The Lake Forest Leader encourages readers to write
letters to Sound Off. All letters must be signed, and names
and hometowns will be published. We also ask that writers
include their address and phone number for verification, not
publication. Letters should be limited to 400 words. The Lake
Forest Leader reserves the right to edit letters. Letters become
property of The Lake Forest Leader. Letters that are published
do not reflect the thoughts and views of The Lake Forest Leader.
Letters can be mailed to: The Lake Forest Leader, 60 Revere
Drive ST 888, Northbrook, IL, 60062. Fax letters to (847)
272-4648 or email to alyssa@lakeforestleader.com.
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