![With their T-Wolves held high, the varsity volleyball team huddles together in preparation at a match in early September. The team is 6-0 in match play and will start the second round of district play next week. “The second time isn’t going to be easy,” Head Coach Lori McLaughlin said. “That's the thing about this district. The coaches are so good and very skilled with what they do and every team is usually different the second time that we play. We just want to hope that we add some more finesse to our game, and then lead us into the postseason, which hopefully [has us] peaking at the right time.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/varvb-9.3-Julia-14.jpg)
![During passing period, parking lot security Alan Gallagher stands on the street between the portables and the main building, ensuring students get to the other side safely. Everyday, Gallagher monitors the parking lots, checks parking permits and helps guide traffic, even more so now with the addition of the portables. “I spend a lot of time making sure students and staff get across the walkway,” Gallagher said. “I haven’t had any real problems [with students] yet, it’s just about getting people adjusted to the new traffic patterns.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_0926.jpg)
![With her daily agenda displayed on the new interactive panels, advanced spanish II and III teacher Sofia Pickle explains to her students their tasks for the day. The new interactive panels come with many features including the ability to annotate directly on the board.“I do love the that I can display certain spanish vocabulary or spanish conjugation [on the panels],” advanced spanish II and III teacher Sofia Pickle said. “I can go and write underneath it or take notes directly on those words or the worksheet I have displayed. I really enjoy that the panels are accessible and have features that are fun for students.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Mrs.-Pickle-Panel-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, the Varsity Tennis team celebrates winning districts. They played against Liberty Hill on Tuesday night and won with a final score of 10- 5. “We improved a lot even from the last game,” senior Blake Hillis said. “We lost against them the last time we played [Liberty Hill], but it was really close. It was just really important for us to win this match since it was the district finals. [When we won I felt] overwhelmingly happy, especially being there with my teammates and it being my senior year. It was just really great. It [felt] like a community.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tennis-Districts-e1728060882260.png)
![On March 20, the theatre program performed their UIL One Act play "Frankenstein". “I could barely believe what I heard after [it was] announced that we were advancing,” freshman Zack Williams said. “It was crazy. Being one of the only freshmen in the show and also [being] a lead definitely put pressure on my shoulders. I knew that the only thing I could do was my best, but that was until I started to think what if my best was not enough? I was feeling like I could never amount to being what [everyone else] thought I was. Although, after hearing that announcement, I realized that maybe I have something going for me after all.”
Photo courtesy of Cayden Bartolo](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Capture.png)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Smiling during the annual Decals with Dads, varsity starting quarterback and sophomore David Cooper and his dad Jim Cooper pose for a picture. During this varsity event, players and their dads get together to put new decals on their helmets. This year, in addition to being announced QB 1, David was also voted as one of six captains on the varsity team, a role that he had difficulty adjusting to as a younger player on varsity. “It was a struggle for me, being younger than everyone else and being a leader,” David said. “I wondered if [the team] would respect me, or if they would just see me as a younger person from a younger class. I think I've become a leader, [though] and let people know that even though I'm younger, I'm still going to lead them well.” Photo courtesy of Cedar Park Football SmugMug.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IMG_8493-1-1200x801.jpg)
![Smiling with her hands on the wheel in her Camaro z28, senior Brooklyn Collinsworth savors these short moments until the car returns back to the shop. “I knew there would be work to be done, but there were too many problems with the engine in the car that they didn't address originally,” Collinsworth said. “The more [SW] takes it apart, the more they realize the issues with it, but I want to keep that car forever so I'm willing to deal with that stuff so I can have a better experience later.” Photo Courtesy of Brooklyn Collinsworth](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/55E3EE4E-12B3-4B85-B1CB-464B676FD3A9_1_105_c.jpeg)
As the wax begins to drip down the purple candles that spell out “GUTS” and the lights gradually dim, the letters become disfigured and a rush of adrenaline can be felt throughout the entire theater. Fans have been waiting for this day for months, and a hush of pounding hearts and rosy cheeks can be felt among the throngs of passionate fans. A visual of her running through a dimly lit hallway, a bright purple door being knocked upon, flashing lights and the drums of “bad idea right?” introduce fans to Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” Tour.
When Rodrigo’s album “GUTS” was released on Sep. 8, I immediately knew that if she decided to go on tour for this album, I would do whatever it took to get tickets. Sure enough, when she announced tour dates, I ran to Ticketmaster to sign up for presale. Of course, with Ticketmaster being Ticketmaster, I did not end up getting presale and I was left feeling betrayed and upset that I was not going to see one of my favorite artists. But then a miracle occurred. One of my friends had gotten a presale code, and offered to buy me tickets. Despite having doubts that I would ever get those tickets, I told her that she could. Then, that next week, she sent me a picture of the tickets and said that they were all mine and that I could take whoever I wanted to take with me. After paying her back, buying an outfit and waiting months and months, Feb. 24 finally arrived.
The day of the concert was long and tiring. I still had to get through an entire day of school, plus it was a Wednesday, so I was already tired from the week. When school finally ended, I got some coffee with my friend, went back to my house and got ready for the concert. The drive to the Moody Center also seemed to never end because of that well-known 5 o’clock traffic. We eventually arrived and after meeting a friend in the merchandise line, waiting outside in the freezing cold with only my T-shirt, skirt and fishnets and dropping $50 on merch, everyone was pining to go inside.
We finally made it in, and went straight to our seats. By this time it was 7:30 p.m., and Chappell Roan, the opener, had begun her set. I was only familiar with two of her songs, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to become a fan of hers. Her performance was fun and lighthearted, her voice was phenomenal and she even taught us a fun little dance to her song “HOT TO GO!” By the end of her set, she had my friend and I in love with her music, hyped up and literally shaking with excitement.
After a cleaning of the stage, a visual of melting candles that counted down the beginning of the concert elapsed and the concert finally began. As Rodrigo took the stage, the venue was alive with excitement and everyone was screaming their heads off. I really loved her mixed setlist, with all of the songs from “GUTS” and a majority of the songs from her first album “Sour”. Being a fan of Rodrigo since her American Girl movie, and not getting to attend her “Sour” tour, I was so grateful that she played songs from “Sour.” I loved getting to finally sing along to the bridge of “driver’s license” with her and everyone else.
The concert was an emotional rollercoaster for me. Having to go from absolutely sobbing to “teenage dream” to dancing to “love is embarrassing” was a little crazy but so fun. Getting to sing along to “vampire” and “the grudge” had me breaking out into a cold sweat and chills throughout the concert. If I had to narrow down my top three performances (not in order) I would say that “enough for you,” her unreleased track “obsessed” and “favorite crime” all left me feeling thunderstruck. The performance of “enough for you” was especially incredible not just because of how much I love the song, but also because of the flying moon that she was seated on and performed from that flew around the audience. Seeing her up close like that without being in the pit was incredible to me, and just made her look and feel so real.
Another aspect of the concert that stuck out to me was definitely the choreography in some of her performances. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews on the dancing in “love is embarrassing” because it’s awkward and a little clumsy. At least for this performance, I think that the awkward dancing fits really well with the song, because the song is about how being in love with someone is embarrassing and weird. I also really loved the choreography for “lacy” because I feel like it captured how the song makes people feel, and was also satisfying to watch because of how graceful and rhythmic the dancers made it feel.
Another thing about the concert that made the night worth all of the waiting was the audience and fans. My friend and I were seated in between a couple on our left, a mom and a daughter to our right and a mom with her two daughters in front of us. I felt so much love radiating from everyone around us, and the concert really made me feel appreciative for my mom, who had put in so much work and effort to make sure that my friend and I made it to the concert safely, despite her not getting to attend it with us. I think that my favorite part about this (and any) concert is the uniting of fans of all ages and roles because everyone is there to see that one artist, and there’s just so much joy and excitement beaming from everyone.
Overall, I 100 percent believe that Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” tour was worth the time spent waiting and the money. Even with me having seats in the lower bowl, I feel like even the people in the nosebleeds got an incredible experience, especially when she flew around on the moon. I left this concert feeling grateful, nostalgic and just overall so happy that I had gotten to be a part of such an unforgettable experience.
Performance: 9/10
Music: 1000/10
Audience engagement: 9/10
Overall rating: 10/10
