Meet Lilith Schmidt, a senior who is passionate about cheerleading and helping others in need. She has built a successful flower business. She loves volunteering for places she says, “I enjoyed seeing how it made people happy, and how there’s always someone who’s in need of help, and I always get excited to be that person to be able to help them.” Keep reading to learn more about experiences and challenges that have shaped her, accomplishments she is proud of, and her goals for the future.

Clarissa Veloz: What is a memorable experience for you that you had in your life?

Lilith Schmidt: I’d say a pretty memorable thing for me is when I moved from San Francisco to here because it was such a big switch. I mean, I was still in the same state, but it was just very different from going to a big city and where I was, and then coming to a smaller city with smaller buildings and just kind of being somewhere a little bit urban, I guess. It’s pretty memorable because I didn’t expect to meet the kind of people I did now, and I thought my life was gonna stay over there, and I was gonna be able to meet all the best people. But now I feel like the best people I’ve met have been here, so just that kind of switch.

CV: What is the challenge you faced, and how did you overcome it?

LS: I think a challenge I faced was not having my own personality. I struggled a lot with trying to be like everyone else around me, and I was scared to be myself. And the only way I was able to really overcome that was putting myself in so many situations and putting so much on my platter. At one point, I kind of just broke and I was like, okay, I need to just do what I want to do, what I want, not what everyone else wants me to do. So that’s what kind of helped me do that, and also with help from my friends and my mom. My mom said you know, you need to do what you want, not what I want, not what your dad wants, not what your friends want, not what everyone else wants.

Cv: What is something important to you? Why?

LS: Something important to me is probably my family.  They’ve always been there for me. They’re always there to support me and be wherever I am. They are the first ones to tell me good job. So they are probably the most important things in my life.

 CV: Can you give an example of a time they were there for you?

LS: I think a good one was mostly when it has to do with school. They’re always like the first ones to help me out when I tell them I have a problem within school, whether that’s with schoolwork or just like anything in general.  Right now, my family’s being really helpful when it comes to applying to colleges and scholarships and knowing what colleges would be best for me, so I think they’re helping me the most right now.  Telling me, “This would be a good option for you like there’s also this kind of career,” and just helping me find other things that I’m looking into.

CV: What motivates you to keep going when things get difficult?

LS: I’d say my mom. My mom sure motivates me. She always tells me to keep on pushing and to just think about my future and know that I’ll be somewhere better. But if I stop now, then I’ll never get there.

CV: What do you want people to remember about you?

LS: Just that I was like a kind, helpful person. Never someone who was negative or put anyone down. I try my best not to be that person. Just someone who was very just authentic.

CV: What accomplishments have you made that makes you most proud of yourself?

LS: There’s a few, but I have to go with cheer.  Cheer is a big part, and my accomplishment is just how hard I worked to actually get my position as a flyer because it was my dream going in there, and I started there, and I didn’t think I was capable of doing it. But I worked hard enough, and I was able to actually accomplish being a flyer.

 CV: Why did you want to be a flyer so bad, and why was it so important to you to become a flyer?

LS: I think I wanted to because I kind of like being a center of attention. It’s bad, but I kind of enjoy giving a show to people. I enjoy having that kind of pressure on me. I find it fun, and I like to show out and show people like what I’ve accomplished. I have no shame in being the center of attention for that, and that’s like a really main reason why I wanted to do it. Also, any other position that I would have done, I would have been the best at, and I feel like I’m just the best at 

giving a performance.

CV: What made you want to start your flower business?

LS: Why I want to start my flower business is probably my love for crafts. I really like getting creative and being able to give to other people. I started my flower business because I started doing it for my mom. I was like little Mother’s Day gifts, and then she was like, “Oh, this is so good.” So then I started offering it to other of my friends so they can give it to their parents, and eventually just got bigger from there on. You know, I really enjoy it.

CV: What are your goals for the future?

LS: Okay, I would say my goal is to just get to a good spot in high school. Hopefully, be somewhere in San Francisco again while I’m in college. I would say just to be happy where I am. I don’t have too many goals for myself right now. Just to be content and be happy. I want to kind of just go with the flow.