Being dedicated, motivated, and focused in high school can be all but easy. You have academics, extracurricular activities, cliques, and just trying to find your way. For some, high school can be their biggest nightmare thus far, but for students like Taylor Peebles, high school is a place where memories are created and goals are accomplished.
For the 16-year-old Houston County High School junior, staying disciplined in the classroom and on the softball field has proven possible. When Peebles was 5, her parents placed her in softball, and she continued playing throughout her high school career. Peebles also participates in Kappa Alpha Zeta, a high school civic sorority for some of the local high schools that allows students to get involved in community service projects. KAZ meets weekly to plan its events. Peebles excels on the softball field and in the classroom, maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Academics are important to Peebles and her parents.
“I want to go to a good college, so grades are very important, and in the end I want to make my family, friends, coaches, and teammates proud,” Peebles said.
Days get hectic, but Peebles employs a strategy for success.
“It is a lot of time management, prioritizing, and making sure that everything that needs to gets done, gets done first before you can go do anything else fun,” Peebles said.
She knows that to get into a great college she has to possess the necessary grades, and she does not want her grades to limit her school choices. She said school can sometimes be tiring, but she enjoys getting to talk and see all of her friends. After high school she wants to go to college, but at this point in time she does not know where or what she wants to major in.
“I do not really know what I want to be when I grow up, but I do know that I would want a family in the future because I am very family oriented,” Peebles said.
Peebles is the second baseman and pitcher for the Houston County High School softball team.
“Pitching is my favorite position because it is like you are in charge of the game,” Peebles said.
To the surprise of many, Peebles does not plan on continuing her softball career in college.
“I’ve spoken to many people about this decision, and I just do not want to regret or miss out not playing in college,” Peebles said.
She loves the game of softball and playing it, but she aspires to go to a larger college such as the University of Georgia (her top pick as of now) or Georgia Southern University, and only small colleges have looked at her for softball opportunities. She realized that with her grades she is able to go to a larger university, and she is willing to give up softball after she graduates high school.
Throughout her high school career, Peebles has accomplished a lot academically and athletically. According to Peebles, one of her greatest academic accomplishments thus far has been making the top five percent in her graduating class this year.
“Receiving top five percent in my class made me feel really accomplished, and I felt like my hard work was paying off,” Peebles said.
In softball her greatest accomplishment was when she and her team came in second in state this year. She said when her softball team received second in state it was kind of a bitter sweet feeling.
“State was an amazing experience, and we had a lot of fun,” Peebles said.
Her team was proud to receive second; however, in that moment they really just wanted to win.
“Losing that championship game definitely pushes us to work harder, hoping that this year we could win it, but I am super excited about this upcoming softball season, and seeing where our team ends up,” Peebles said.
Peebles is ready to take on her last year in high school and see what lies ahead for her future college career.
No Strikeouts, On or Off the Field
Written by: Hillary Griffin
Photography by: Brittany K. Wyche
