november 14, 2012
features
Elliana Golijov is...
Relationships Love: not for the faint of heart
Every issue, The Roar randomly selects a student and explores what makes him or her unique
Learning to Lead Senior Elliana Golijov works toward her goal of becoming an educator through leadership roles at school and beyond
photo by Jordan Cohen-Kaplan
Senior Elliana Golijov, who aspires to be a teacher, devotes 12 blocks a week to working with young children in South’s preschool.
Caroline Zola Sr. Features Editor
When senior Elliana Golijov was in second grade, she changed her given name, Anna, to Elliana. “Because we speak Spanish in our family, we pronounce [Anna as] ‘Ana’ with a very open ‘A,’” Elliana’s mother, Silvia Golijov, said. “When she started kindergarten, her friends were calling her ‘Anna’ or ‘Annie,’ … so, in second grade … she changed her name,” Golijov said. Elliana went on to demonstrate a high degree of willpower in school, Golijov said. “She made the whole elementary school [call her Elliana]. At some point, I think teachers didn’t even know she had been Anna before, and I think ... it shows that she’s very determined,” Golijov said. Elliana said that her determination reaches beyond just her petition for a name change and that she strives to overcome bias and prove herself in and outside of the classroom. Besides changing her name, Elliana said she has made a conscious effort to maintain her parents’ Argentine roots in other aspects of her life. “I eat Spanish food, I speak Spanish, I understand how [Hispanic culture] works,” she said. Elliana had never eaten a s’more, for example, until her freshman year but said she never felt she was missing out. “People are like ‘Oh, you know, that’s really weird. That’s kind of late,’” she said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, but at the same time, I’m having all of these foods from my country that you’ve never heard of.’”
Golijov agreed that Elliana embraces her identity. “She identifies with other kids with whom she shares that ethnicity,” Golijov said. “It became part of who she is.” As one of three captains of the varsity cheerleading team, Elliana said she has worked to eradicate assumptions about cheerleaders. “As a team, we work really hard to build our own reputation based on respect, not the stereotype of what we should be,” Elliana said. “I try really hard to do well in school, to defy the cheerleader stereotype.” Fellow cheer captain and senior T’Lani Tyler said that Elliana’s passion for the sport is evident in all of her leadership decisions. “She’s just always putting her best foot forward and inspiring us to be better cheerleaders,” Tyler said. This passion for working with others has carried over into Elliana’s work in South’s preschool over the past three years. This year, Elliana is an early childhood education major, which means that she spends 12 blocks each week in the preschool. For Elliana, this work is all about leadership. “It’s just so important to educate people as much as [you] can, to empower them to make their own decisions,” Elliana said. “[Preschool] is the time in life when [students are] becoming their own selves .” Early childhood education teacher Jennifer Dolan said that Elliana’s determination and patience contribute to her ability to work with children. “She’s one of the most motivated high school students I’ve ever met,” Dolan said. “She’s very pas-
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sionate about the world of education. She really wants to become a teacher, … and I think she works really hard to connect with the kids.” Elliana’s advisory teacher, science teacher Derek Van Beever, said Elliana also works to share her best self with peers. “I can always count on Elliana to be very thoughtful and give her insight, and she’s not afraid to express her opinions in front of a group and stand by her convictions,” Van Beever said. Elliana said she credits her confidence in interacting with different types of people to her cultural background. “I’m privileged because I can be Spanish but never treated unequally for that,” she said. “At the same time, I can still understand Spanish, [so] I can relate to the minorities.” Elliana said though she feels blessed to have two cultural influences, American and Hispanic, this combination also leaves her with lingering questions. “I have this weird privilege where I can shift between relating with minority people by being Spanish and then with white [people] by my skin color,” Elliana said. “What does it mean to have that privilege? I’m still trying to figure it out.” Ultimately, though, Elliana said she tries not only to act within cultural expectations but also to determine her own beliefs. “People really care about what other people think of them,” Elliana said. “[But] I really don’t care what people think of me … I feel like I’m in this place where I care more about being happy.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Every issue, The Roar publishes a different anonymous student’s perspective on relationships. The views expressed in the “Relationships Column” do not reflect the official views of The Lion’s Roar, nor are they intended as a guide or source of advice for others. There is a common misconception among high school students that relationships are easy. But relationships take effort and commitment, which can be strenuous for any two high school students. I have been in a relationship for almost two years, and I could not be happier with the deep connection my girlfriend and I have. While I enjoy every day of our relationship, maintaining the connection is nevertheless challenging — unbearably so sometimes. Just as a flowering plant needs pruning to grow, serious relationships require attention and care to flourish. When I spent two months away from my girlfriend last summer, our relationship suffered from separation and lack of attention. After seeing her on a regular basis during the school year, saying goodbye to my girlfriend and knowing that we would be separated was awful. While I was away, maintaining our relationship became increasingly difficult, and the day of my return home seemed like it would never arrive. The tension in our relationship grew, and my girlfriend and I began to argue. Fighting with someone about whom you truly care is the absolute worst. We yelled at each other until we couldn’t take it any longer and had to hang up the phone. I just wanted give my girlfriend a hug and say, “I am sorry,” but I was miles away. I tried so hard every day to reassure her that it would be no time until we saw each other again, but honestly, even I didn’t believe that. We talked every day via text message, telephone and Skype. Talking hurt: the more we communicated, the more I realized how much I missed my girlfriend. It took more effort than I ever expected to keep up the amazing relationship we had worked so hard to grow. Eventually, the summer passed, and I came back home. The moment I saw my girlfriend, I felt like we had truly succeeded. We had lasted the whole summer, through every strain and every fight. We had shown ourselves that with hard work and commitment, our relationship could endure any challenge. Relationships can be a great thing, as I have found at the same time, however, they can be exhausting and require countless hours of work and dedication. I feel very grateful for the strong connection that I have had with my girlfriend these past years, even though there are some days where I feel I just can’t deal with the challenge. With school and sports, choosing to have a relationship is adding another ball to juggle. It can weigh a person down sometimes, but in the long run, being with someone about whom you care is a true blessing.