Sophomore Celine Merhi’s first love started with a racket and tennis ball at the ripe age of four.

With guidance from her grandpa, she had immediately sparked an interest in playing the sport. Even though Celine learned how to play at an early age, it took her a few years to decide if she wanted to take her tennis career seriously. 

Not knowing where this journey might take her, Celine has found comfort and enjoyment along the way. 

“I have been [playing] for about four and a half years,” Celine said. “I kind of stopped [practicing] because of COVID, but I’ve been getting back to doing it.”

For now, Celine plays for a tennis club. However, to extend her competitiveness, she is planning on trying out for the FHC Varsity Tennis team next year. 

Unfortunately, Celine hasn’t been able to practice as much as she would like in order to make sure she is ready for tryouts, but she pushes herself as much as she can during these unprecedented times.  

“I’m trying to get better,” Celine said, “ Especially because I’ve had to stop a little bit because of COVID.” 

Celine has an everlasting appreciation for the game and constantly pushes herself to excel as an individual. Celine has an everlasting appreciation for the game and constantly pushes herself to excel as an individual.

Along with this, Celine has seized the opportunity to take full advantage of the downtime she has been given, and because of COVID-19, she has found more opportunities to improve her tennis skills. At the beginning of her tennis career, Celine struggled with being able to get most of the tennis skills down properly. But, accomplishing the difficult skills she needed made her more courageous and capable in the end.

Even on Celine’s rough days, she always finds her way back to where it all began the tennis courts.

“It makes me forget about all of my problems and worries,” Celine said. 

Furthermore, Celine’s mindset is facing the direction of hopefully being able to attend the University of New York. Celine knows that it will take a lot of practice to reach where she dreams of going to school, but she is willing to put in the work.

When Celine isn’t active on the court, she takes advantage of her downtime and finds composure in the act of drawing.  

“I’m trying to improve my drawing skills,” Celine said. “I’m kind of getting better, so that’s good.”

While growing up, Celine had developed this interest in drawing after watching a few of her friends draw. She saw how excellent they were and started practicing. 

“I tried it, and for the next couple of years, I [just practiced],” Celine said. 

Although Celine does not take any art classes the school has to offer, she hopes she will be able to participate in them her junior or senior year. For now, she is getting all of the credits she needs out of the way. However, this is not stopping her from practicing, and with times how they are now, she has more freedom than she has ever had before.

Whether it’s a free draw or about something meaningful, Celine never runs out of ideas about what to draw next. She enjoys the creativeness it gives to her, allowing her to feel free and at peace. 

“I’ve been really spending my time on [drawing],” Celine said, “Because now that we’re all online [there is more time]. It’s fun to draw anything that inspires me.”