Complete Harmonie

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  Wai'anae, Hawai'i
  October 22 2014
  
  Monday through Thursday for senior Harmonie Westbrook, a multi sport student athlete at Wai'anae High School, is a continuous cycle of involvement.
  
  "Wake up, go to school, right after school I lift with the wrestlers, walk straight to the Wai'anae Boxing Club, train until about six thirty and then go home, shower, eat, do homework; work on projects if I need to, college apps, and then go to bed." said Harmonie.
  
  For Harmonie, doing what she does isn't just an option- it's a lifestyle.
  
  "I feel like if you don't give your 110% in what you do, then you're doing the wrong thing." added Harmonie.
  
  Harmonie always puts that little extra in extraordinary- however, last year, she found herself wrestling with a very serious problem.
  
  "I left during practice and I came home crying to my mom saying that I hate wrestling and that I didn't want to do it again. I just felt so exhausted...so I didn't get no sleep and I just felt so overwhelmed and stressed out with everything." said Harmonie.
  
  Ultra competitive students such as Harmonie face extreme levels of physical and mental stress. By putting so much emphasis on doing her being in everything she does and not taking any breaks, Harmonie has become part of the student athlete population that is faced with a battle with themselves. According to a University of Toronto study. 40 percent of teenagers who participate in school sports suffer from high levels of stress and feelings of depression.
  
  "I mean I seen her dehydrated. I seen her so thin. I was saying, 'Harmonie quit.' I could just see her mentally, physically and her body was just deteriorating." said her mother, JoAnn Westbrook.
  
  Maria Thompson, a Psychology teacher at Wai'anae High School says that it's very normal for teens with Harmonie's time sensitive and taxing physical and emotional demands.
  
  "Physiologically their hormones are still blasting away- going up and down. so conflicts like that can happen and would create a biological reaction." said Thompson.
  
  This type of reaction is best dealt with an outlet, she added. In many cases, student athletes turn to their parents, a trusted adult, or best friend. Harmonie, on the other hand, took a more physical approach to coping with her stress.
  
  "Paintball is my favorite sport because it's such a big stress reliever besides the fact that you get to shoot people and it's legal." said Harmonie.
  
  Harmonie's parents own the Hawaii Extreme Paintball and Airsoft field, and on Saturdays and Sundays from nine to five, Harmonie is afforded the opportunity to be around every weekend, working the register, reefing paintball games, or dealing with the customers who want to play games.
  
  Whenever life seems tough, she's able to go to the paintball field and alleviate whatever it weighing on her mind.
  
  "Paintball helps me a lot especially stress wise. Every time I feel overwhelmed of I just feel irritated or annoyed I just ask my dad to watch the office, pick up the gun, and go in a couple games to relieve some stress." said Harmonie. "This paintball field is my home field advantage because it's my paintball field."
  
  Tap outs, jabs, and some fully automatic firearm carnage is the inharmonious hectic life that some how all fits in to complete Harmonie.

Looking back

Write tools

"I play paintball, so was a cool sport to cover."


Gary Domingo-Oka, Editor

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"It was a fresh  take on home field advantage."



Mylea Saga-Moore, Reporter

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"Being a student athlete is time consuming."



Diamond Tuisano, Writer

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"This project was tiring ."





Mahealani Neito-Lopes, Photographer 

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