When freshman Isabella Huling sat down to make a paper rose, her first origami craft, she said she never expected the craft to turn into a business and her main hobby.

As she continued experimenting with paper and as origami began to click with her more, she realized the craft gave her the opportunity to open her Etsy shop​​: Spiteherstudio.

“I’m really proud of where it’s taking me business-wise,” Huling said. “It feels like my love of the craft led me into the business itself.”

Huling said she knew she always wanted to run and manage some sort of business, and that now she has the opportunity to do so through her craft.

“I’ve always really enjoyed crafting, art and making stuff so I was like, ‘why don’t I do that?” And then I just kind of went with it, and it snowballed, and now I’m here,” Huling said.

Huling said she mainly specializes in creating and selling various different kinds of flowers with paper and ribbon. With each full bouquet she crafts, it takes upwards of 10 hours. Huling said that while the work is tedious, she always finds the final result worth ultimately satisfying.

“The product after everything is all done and the struggle is over, it’s so cute and so worth it,” Huling said.

Moreover, Huling set up multiple of her origami pieces in the Student Council sponsored art show in the first semester. Huling said she’s excited about the attention her work is receiving.

“That was my first art show since I was maybe eight,” Huling said. “Putting my work out there and then seeing the positive feedback with it was great.”

Aerial arts, the act of performing acrobatic routines in the air on various apparatuses, has been an integral part of junior Hope Wellinghoff’s life for the past two and a half years. Wellinghoff’s interest began in childhood while attending the annual Lawrence Busker Fest.

Having danced for 10 years, Wellinghoff was drawn to the similarities between the two and saw aerial arts as a natural extension of dance.

“I always wanted to do aerial arts because it’s like dancing but in the air and I always thought that was the coolest thing ever,” Wellinghoff said. “You can do drops and do the splits and bend your back in ways that you can’t necessarily do on the ground as much.”

Wellinghoff said she wishes aerial arts received more attention because of the athleticism required in terms of strength, flexibility and endurance. She noted the challenges of preparing for both group and solo pieces as well as mastering every type of apparatus, including silks, hammock, Lyra and flying pole.

“[For group pieces], it’s about figuring out what people are doing in the air while also complementing what people are doing on the ground, and for solos you have to keep everyone’s attention but you’re only one person,” Wellinghoff said.

Despite these challenges, Wellinghoff described the unique exhilaration aerial performances give her. She said that while pre-performance nerves are common, they quickly disperse once airborne.

“The feeling of performing in the air is unlike anything else. You just get lost in it,” Wellinghoff said. “Before performing it’s nerve wracking because there are so many variables that could go wrong. Once you get up [on the silk], every worry disappears and it’s just you performing.”

Senior Matthew Liu began playing piano at age five and was inspired by his sister, a Free State alumni. Liu said that being a pianist has provided emotional expression and a healthy coping mechanism for him.

“It’s been an extremely large portion of my life, as I’ve spent many hours practicing. Piano, at times, can definitely help deal with certain things,” Liu said. “But overall, more of the impactfulness is from taking so much time out of my life.”

During the 2020 pandemic, Liu’s usual summer competitions and activities were disrupted. Despite these challenges, he said that he overcame these barriers by reaching for his aspirations and finding reward in the improvement of his skills.

“During that time, there was not really a goal or a purpose in mind so that was a struggle of just trying to have a goal, or do something basically other than just sit there and practice.” Liu said.

Despite the constant work Liu has put into being a pianist, Liu expresses the progression of his skill makes practicing worthwhile.

“It’s very rewarding to see the effort put in, the hours every day practicing and result in my skill being developed and being successful,” Liu said.

Liu also expressed that he is considering pursuing a professional career as a pianist after high school. His future as a potential professional pianist is unknown, but Liu mentioned that it will not be a simple journey.

“There’s no hard path or something that’s definitely going to happen. Once you get to a collegiate level, there are many competitions, and then you can somewhat start a performing career. But sometimes, that’s not always successful,” Liu said. “So you might start teaching, whether it’s in a private studio or at a university. So there’s a lot of paths that can stem from going professional. It’s a matter of, you know, [seeing] what happens.”

In the last 3 seasons of his lacrosse career, senior Levi Lichauer struggled to find a high school lacrosse team, as Free State does not offer the sport. Fortunately, Lichauer is able to travel to Shawnee to play with the Mill Valley lacrosse team.

While Lichauer said he feels lacrosse is growing steadily in the Kansas City area, there have not been enough participants to fill a club team in Lawrence. Consequently, Lichauer’s club team is not based in Lawrence — it is part of the Lacrosse Association of Kansas City.

“My freshman year, there was a Lawrence team, and it folded early on into the season,” Lichauer said. “Then we merged with the Mill Valley club team. Everyone was very welcoming, and I enjoyed it when I first played.”

While Lichauer said he finds the drive to Mill Valley to be a downside of playing with the team, he feels that the benefits outweigh the drive. Along with making friends he wouldn’t have made otherwise, Lichauer said it is worth it as he’s played for a total of seven years.

“[The drive] is an hour total, it’s not fun, but I show up and I enjoy it there,” Lichauer said. “It’s dedication and showing up every day. If it’s what you love, it’s worth it.”

Lichauer feels that his dedication has been the main driving factor in his experience. Additionally, he advises others who can’t play their sport in their city to not give up on their passion.

As a child, sophomore Lydia Hock had an obsession with dinosaurs, but when that phase ended, she turned to the next hobby that caught her attention: horseback riding. Hock said she attributes much of who she is today because of the sport that has shaped her since she was nine.

Through horseback riding, Hock has the opportunity to connect with people beyond her age and school. Because of their impact, Hock says what leaves the largest effect on her is not related to the horses or riding — it’s the people.

“After recognizing how hard certain things are, I’ve gained respect for people who are more experienced than me [and] who are less experienced than me,” Hock said.

She tries to get out of Lawrence to ride twice a week. Although, when approaching competitions, she tries to get in extra practice and familiarize herself with her horse.

Hock said she works to build a connection with each horse during rides and care. According to Hock, each horse has a different personality that is essential to understand when developing a connection; her favorite is named Willie.

“You’ve got to get used to their personality,” Hock said. “What gets them to understand you and what you want the best.”

Although riding horses is therapeutic to Hock, she said she finds waking up at 4 a.m. for competitions stressful. However, whenever she starts to feel nervous, Hock is reassured by her instructor’s advice: to focus on giving it her all, not the ribbons.

“The main goal is to have fun and do your best, and whatever happens, happens,” Hock said.

Since Christmas of her sophomore year, junior June McKeel has spent her weekends sketching, structuring and painting her own artificial nails. McKeel became interested in doing nails as a way to save money and to express her creativity.

McKeel said that learning to do her nails was difficult but her background in art made it easier.

“When I started, my nails kept falling off because I didn’t know how to actually put them on and the steps to do it,” McKeel said. “I started off with hot pink duck nails [with] like a single charm in the middle, which was not the cutest, but … I’ve been doing art my whole life, so I was thinking about it in a different way. Instead of, ‘oh, you’re doing nails’ it’s ‘you’re doing art, just on a smaller canvas.’”

Instead of finding inspiration from social media, McKeel said she draws inspiration for her nails from things she is interested in week by week, like music. For her inspired nails, she drew out what she was imagining by incorporating sheet music into her design.

Despite her hostess job putting restrictions on length and 3D designs, McKeel finds the freedom of being able to express her style is her favorite part of the process.

“If I were to go to a nail salon, they would be like, ‘Let’s upcharge for that,’ or, ‘We can’t do that,’” McKeel said. “Being able to put it in my own hands and have my vision come to life is really nice.”