This past year has been one wild ride for everyone, but with the world finally coming to a sense of normality, many opportunities have risen up. And Makayla Monreal has not let any of these opportunities past her. 

Makayla Monreal is a senior at Agua Fria High School and this is her first year joining OwlFeed Journalism, where she will hold the role of lifestyle reporter. She joined OwlFeed in hopes to grow as a writer, expand her vocabulary and just try something new her senior year that could also help her in the future and at college. 

In addition to being in journalism, Makayla also plays soccer and softball at Agua Fria and has played softball on a travel club team. She has played softball for seven years as an outfielder, and has played soccer for two years as a goalkeeper. 

“I love the intensity of both of them especially when we have a lot of fans that come to our games,” Makayla said when asked why she loves playing sports so much. 

Makayla also enjoys going fishing with her dad and hanging out with her brothers and cousins. She loves painting and drawing as a way to release stress and just as a calming hobby she enjoys. 

After the excitement and craziness of the new school year settles down, Makayla plans on getting a job. After graduation she plans on attending school and becoming a firefighter paramedic in the future. “I just really enjoy helping people in any way I can and getting to be able to save a life someday makes me feel good about myself,” Monreal said. 

One of her biggest inspirations in life is her family. Besides her parents, Makayla has three older brothers and a large extended family that she is close with. She enjoys playing basketball with her family and traveling to different states with them. They recently went to San Diego for vacation and had lots of fun at the beach. 

We all could learn from Makayla when it comes to having our priorities in the right place. She is such a hard worker, but also makes time for all the things that are important to her. And let’s be real here, it’s hard to balance school and sports in the first place and Makayla has done an amazing job with all of it. 

The biggest piece of advice that Makayla would give to her freshman self is to not take anything for granted, and to enjoy the next few years because they go by so quickly. She advises all freshmen to just be kids for as long as they can and really enjoy their youth before graduation because then life and responsibilities come quickly. 

For the short amount of time that I have known Makayla, she has inspired me in so many ways and she is just an all around caring and ambitious person who will make a big impact anywhere she is involved. 

Makayla Monreal has already been a great addition to OwlFeed and will continue to be an amazing writer, as she is going to be a lifestyle reporter this year. So make sure to keep an eye out for her compelling stories throughout the year.