Give it up for Timothy Tran (12), a kind student and even kinder friend! Tran’s journey at West has been eventful and still continues. He credits his growth to his friends and the community. Without them, his interests wouldn’t have progressed so much. If ever you see him around, he’s bound to have a smile on his face: he’s a jovial, easy-going guy!

   During his time at West, Tran has been involved in a number of things. In his first two years, he ran Cross Country and Track. He had lots of fun since he liked the people and the environment! Tran did not, however, continue the sport: “I had to quit in Junior year… Because of COVID-19, a lot of people quit.” It became too difficult to maintain any sports since the beginning of the pandemic. Instead, he now spends more time at home, “because [he] lives with [his] grandma. [He] has to help her out.”

   His role as a manleader was another interesting involvement of his at West. A manleader was a boy dressed in cheerleader outfits cheering during the Powderpuff game. Tran’s friend in ASB encouraged him to take on the manleader role. “[My friend] convinced me,” he sighed. “And I had to practice [for] two weeks at lunch!” The rigorous practice times surprised him, but he admitted “it was pretty fun” nonetheless.

   Even outside of school, he’s social and involved. From hanging out with friends at the beach, chilling with a book, or cheering at a game, Tran relishes every moment. Things weren’t always this way, though. His hobbies used to be much different.

   For the longest time, all he did was “stay at home and do nothing.” He took this as an opportunity to sprout new interests to occupy his time, coming to “love reading and listening to music.” His favorite book is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, and his favorite music genre is RnB/Hip Hop.

    Though he’s not involved in sports anymore, he loves football! “I’m a huge fan of the Steelers, and I love watching [them],” said Tran. With the long days of the pandemic, he’s had more relaxing than work to do!

   With all this time, he couldn’t do the one thing he wanted to do the most: See his friends. COVID-19 has been hard on him especially “because [he’s] used to hang[ing] out with friends or just doing things outside.” Having to adjust to life indoors hasn’t been easy: Tran likes the outdoors and socializing with friends, and distancing himself from people hasn’t made it any easier. 

   At the same time, the pandemic gave Tran “more time to think about [his] future; what [he] wants to do when [he’s] older.” Gradually, staying at home and doing nothing became the best thing for him: “I have more time to look at jobs and colleges… to see what I want to do!” He plans to go into business management or computer science. Tran hopes “that by the time [he] gets into college, all the COVID-19 stuff calms down so [he’s] able to fully enjoy [his] college experience.”

      Currently, a lot of his time is devoted to his job working at Crème de la Crêpe in Redondo Beach. Tran works with a mutual friend who also introduced him to the place.

   Reflecting, Tran realized how scared he was to take chances: “Like, when you first go to high school, [you’re] kind of scared and shy.” No matter how hard it might be, he encourages people to take the risks and make friends. It will be worth it!