{"id":1860,"date":"2023-05-09T14:26:12","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T18:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/?p=1860"},"modified":"2023-05-16T09:30:18","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T13:30:18","slug":"lilliana-escobar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2022-2023\/2023\/05\/09\/lilliana-escobar\/","title":{"rendered":"Lilliana Escobar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Theogony<\/em> celebrates our spotlight specialist: the creative, future representative Lilliana Escobar. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Yahney-Marie Sangar\u00e9<\/p>\nEditor<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lilliana Escobar is eighteen years old, an editor for Theogony<\/em>, a co-founder of Yarn Club, and a member of the National Honors Society, Titans Mundial, the National English Honors Society, and Key Club. She was seventeen when I interviewed her on April 12, 2023: the day before her eighteenth birthday, which makes her an Aries. We had our interview at ACHS, but she told me if she could\u2019ve, she\u2019d be drinking Thai iced tea. Heading to Virginia Tech in the fall, Lilliana will be studying International Relations or Public Relations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m passionate about crocheting . . . Helping others. I like feeling like I can contribute to something and make it better. I do it to donate those items that I make. I like seeing the faces [people] have whenever they see things I make. It makes them happy,\u201d Lilliana said. Although she\u2019s been crocheting since she was five, taught by her mother, it was during quarantine that she picked it up again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lilliana as a child, smiling in a photo at Charles Barrett Elementary School. On the left, senior Deanna Kosinski <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lilliana is also a dancer. She did ballet for 11 years, starting when she was three, and loves dancing. \u201cI feel like dancing is part of my culture as well. I\u2019m Peruvian; my mom is Peruvian, and my dad is Guatemalan. We love dancing; as Latinas, we are dancing all the time.\u201d  When she was little, her dream was Juilliard, and although she could have pursued it, she wanted something that would \u201cmake more money and have a stable future.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilliana\u2019s mother was a dance teacher as well; her grandmother moved to Alexandria, with Lilliana\u2019s mother following when she was four. She comes from a \u201cfamily of givers,\u201d all starting with her mother, the \u201crock of the family.\u201d Alongside her mom, Lilliana has three siblings, all of whom went to ACHS. Alongside her family, Lilliana says her neighbor had a profound impact on her growing up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery time I\u2019d come over, she\u2019d give me words of advice even if I didn\u2019t have anything to say back. She\u2019d try to mentor me financially, and emotionally,\u201d Lilliana said. \u201cI appreciate that even if she doesn\u2019t understand on a personal level . . . She still tried to help me mature and have that confidence.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilliana joined Theogony<\/em> in her junior year. After writing about everything from music<\/a> to sports<\/a>, she became an editor as a senior. She said her favorite part of Theogony <\/em>is \u201cbeing able to publish [her] ideas.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like a true Aries, Lilliana says her \u201cstubbornness\u201d is one of the things she values about herself. She takes advice with a grain of salt and is a fast learner. That comes with Spanish, too; although Lilliana isn\u2019t fluent in the language, she\u2019s been learning since ninth grade. After originally starting with French in sixth grade, she said that she wanted to learn Spanish to further connect with her identity and family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if some people might view her as shy, Lilliana is a good friend. She\u2019s incredibly welcoming and dedicated to making other people feel included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that some people think that I\u2019m closed off for other reasons, maybe being mean or wanting to be alone. It\u2019s actually the opposite; I want to interact, but I just have anxiety. I\u2019m not able to really express my thoughts or speak well . . . If I had it written down, it would sound like someone else was writing it,\u201d Lilliana said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With a crocheted scarf wrapped around their necks, seniors Deanna Kosinski (left) and Lilliana Escobar (right) pose in front of several bins full of yarn <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s the realest person I know. She is so good at listening and we can talk for hours. I\u2019ve been friends with Lilliana since I was five years old, and our friendship has never been stronger,\u201d said senior Deanna Kosinski. \u201cI work with Lilliana, I go to the gym with Lilliana [and] I run the crochet club with Lilliana. We are very compatible. I feel like we always have been. That\u2019s my for-lifer. She treats everybody with so much love and respect. She\u2019s probably one of my favorite people that walks this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of Theogony<\/em>, Lilliana said her favorite teacher at ACHS was Ms. Hudson. \u201cShe\u2019s a personal favorite for everyone, but I understand why. She doesn\u2019t make you feel excluded, and when I would come to her classroom during lunch every day, I would be there by myself, eating or doing homework or asking questions. I created that bond with her. . . She felt welcoming.\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLilliana is one of the most smart and determined people I know. She knows exactly what she wants, and she knows how to get there. She’s so funny, loyal, and multitalented; it\u2019s something I really admire about her. She\u2019s just a go-getter in everything she does and it\u2019s hard to come across people like that. She\u2019s also just a genuinely amazing friend and person, and I know that she\u2019s going to be such a successful person in life,\u201d said Eva Reumann, a class of 2022 ACHS alumnus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilliana\u2019s favorite news source is NPR, but above all, she loves music. When she was younger, she was obsessed with Michael Jackson. Now, she listens to a lot of Childish Gambino, Travis Scott, Off-Set, and Kendrick Lamar. To future editors, she advised building relationships; both for work ethic and article quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTry to connect with the staffers and the editors at the beginning of the year. Get to know them well, so you\u2019re able to lean on them if you have any questions without feeling intimidated. Brainstorming with peers makes the stories so much easier. If you have another point of view of the story idea, you\u2019ll have something to write about,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLiliana has helped me a lot with my articles this year! I learned lots of things from her and I can see improvements in my writing skills all because of her guidance and I really appreciate it. She is such a wonderful and patient person. I wish her all the best in any path that she takes in her life!\u201d said junior Zahra Rahimi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLilliana is a dedicated, hard-working person, but always brings the vibes when you need it. She is talented in many ways, but [she is] mainly a great friend who is there through thick and thin and never fails to put a smile on your face. I admire her dedication to her success and [her] ability to overcome challenges, and I can\u2019t wait to see the places she goes,\u201d said senior Maggie Carlson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting in the A200s  right before the bell rang, I asked Lilliana the meaning of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust to live. Live life to the fullest. Don\u2019t even think twice about having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yahney’s Note<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are such a kind person! I cannot wait to see what you go on and achieve. It was so nice to get the quotes for this article; your friends truly love you so deeply and it\u2019s beautiful to see. Have fun at university!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Part of the series of Theogony<\/em>‘s senior editor spotlights. To read about the rest of our graduating editors, go here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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