Imagine it’s a tight game and our girls tennis team is down one. There are 2 more games and Liliana Aceves and her partner are one of them. There’s so much pressure on her and her teammate but she doesn’t let that get to her, she just plays with all she’s got.

“My perseverance has really shown in, like my games, even when we’re losing, I try to not let it get to me,” she said.

Aceves has had a lot of experience to get the mindset she has now. This mindset is helping her through it all, the pageant, but also her sport.

“Tennis has affected me by rage baiting me sometimes, and just making me have a lot of emotions surrounding the sport. but I think overall, it’s had a good impact on me, because it helps me stay physical and active,” Aceves said.

Aceves is on the all-girls tennis team and is one of their starters. Throughout her 4 years of playing, she has had some battles with the sport, making it hard to love, but, with a good mindset, she never quit. Her never giving up and this being her last year playing tennis has just made her want to try harder and be better.

“I’ve wanted to push myself more, especially this being the last year. I wanted to be a starter, which I am now,” she said. “So I think this year is definitely my year for tennis.”.

Not only is this her year for tennis, but this is her year for her future. During the summer, Aceves dabbled in a psychology internship at UC Berkeley. 

“The psychology internship was very good for me. I feel like it taught me a lot, and it showed me how to be confident in my skills and my abilities. It just showed me how diverse and different everyone is. So it gave me a different view on things, and just overall, taught me a lot of great knowledge that I could spread onto others,” Aceves said. 

That psychology internship gave her some good insight on something she wants to major in. Here’s some advice she gave on what parents should tell their children.

“I think the most important thing parents should tell their children is that they’re not alone and that, if anything, they have the support of the parents themselves. Because I think a lot of parents forget that being a parent doesn’t just involve giving them physical things such as food, shelter, and clothes,” she said. “It also involves a lot of mental aspects of giving them a lot of nurture in a way, like showing them that it’s okay to have feelings, that it’s okay to feel, that it’s not a bad thing, and that those things are also normal, and that it’s also healthy, because health isn’t just based on physical but also mental. So I think it’s good to tell them that they’re not alone.” 

 As much as Aceves is involved outside of school, she is also involved in some school clubs like the all-girls club Sobobans, theatre, ASB, Cardinal buddies, NHS, and AVID club. 

“They’re going really good. We haven’t had too many meetings yet, but I’m just excited to see what the year will bring us,” Aceves said. 

Aceves has been in theatre since her freshman year, but has never acted until junior year when she was cast in their play Women and War.

“Last year, in April, I believe we did a play called Women at War, and I played the role of GOLD STAR MOTHER, which really was a tragic story, in a way, because of her tragedy of losing her three sons to a war. I think the play went really well. I really liked being on stage and having that presence and being able to portray such a tragic role and such a sad story. Being able to actually act it out and show people my ability in those ways, and also show her story and show maybe some stories that aren’t really talked about, especially with war. We only see the men’s side. But there were a lot of women behind the scenes that we don’t really get to see, and that’s kind of what the play was about, which I really liked.”

With all these experiences Aceves has had, it has shaped her into a beautiful and smart young woman. She has gained confidence but most importantly an understanding about herself that helps guide her through tough times.