Hailey Long
Sponsored by Tricia Kirksey Real Estate
Life moves fast, and in a town as small as this one it seems to move much faster. I’ve lived in Exeter all my life, and honestly I have no idea who I would’ve been today if not for this city. The people, the community, the businesses – everything. And not only did I find the things I’m passionate about here, this town has provided me every platform I need to exceed in my hobbies – even since I was three.
When I was three years old I wanted to swim. I told my parents everyday how cool it would be if I could just swim across the pool. They brought me out to the Exeter Eels summer swim program where I began my swim career. From there, I swam every summer up until high school. When I was nine years old I wanted to play water polo. Again, my parents brought me to the Exeter USA Club Water Polo practices that happened during the summers as well. This is what turned me into the aquatics athlete I am today and will continue to be. I’ve been on varsity swim and polo since my freshmen year at EUHS, I was named the Casey Goodwin All Tournament player at the 2015 annual games, my school polo team was the 2016 undefeated league champs, and I took first place league titles in both my individual swim events – the 200 and 500 yard freestyle – during the 2017 season.
Another hobby I’ve invested much into recently is music, however it’s a hobby I’ve kept mostly to myself. I never knew of a way to share this and expand on it – until this school year. Exeter Union High now offers an introductory guitar class by Mr. Clague, and I love it. I taught myself how to play the guitar the middle of my sophomore year, along with the piano, but I always loved the guitar more. I wrote my own rhythms and learned hundreds of songs. Now that I’m enrolled in this new guitar class, I have a way to learn more, to practice more, and even to perform.
Now, hobbies are great and all, but until you can do something great with them they’ll forever just be hobbies. I’ve always been a goal-oriented person, I like working towards things and I don’t like feeling like I’m wasting my time. My goals for the future include studying and majoring in Human Resource Management at Fresno State University, while minoring in Music Production.
I love the town I live in and I love the friends I’ve made here. I want to represent what this town has to offer by even just being apart of Miss Exeter.
