Remember when quarantine ended and you had to go back to a regular school building after what felt like forever? How did you feel? Kinda nervous, right? Well, you’re not alone.

Paint Branch senior Gladis Padilla is no exception. She was very shy and quiet after quarantine ended and she entered high school in a new city. But then she auditioned for the school’s fall play, after an encouraging nudge from Mr. Woodward. She had a really fun time at the audition and recalls, “It was the starting point of me changing.” Her time in theater continued as she also worked on The Lightning Thief during sophomore year and once again had fun with it because “we had a really good cast.” 

Other than taking part in musicals and plays, Gladis loves Paint Branch’s many clubs, her AP 2D Art and Design class, and spending time with her friends. On the weekends, she enjoys sleeping, going to the Wheaton Mall with her siblings, and eating Charley’s. She loves a good, relaxing Saturday where all her worries about school can just disappear.

Gladis is really into Alternative Rock and Indie music, but loves all types of music. Her favorite songs are “Die With a Smile” by Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga and “All Around Me” by Flyleaf. She used to love cats as a kid and always wanted one as a pet; but after she got a mini Golden Retriever in 2020, she started loving dogs more. If there’s one celebrity she wants to meet, it’s Justin Baldoni. He was an actor in the movie It Ends With Us, and she would love to see his original vision of the movie before others altered it.

Overall, Gladis is very happy with her life at Paint Branch. She loves the community the clubs provide, since they allow her to make so many friends and feel more positive about school. She loves her 2D art class because “it feels really free and relaxed.” Gladis is a great student here at Paint Branch and has, in her opinion, become a social butterfly since freshman year.

By: Riley Munger