A book and a balancing act

Peninsula High student uses datebook to manage classes, clubs and work

Ashtin Hines

Community correspondent

Faded brown and green — and exposed without a plastic lining — Kelsey Stonetreet’s binder is scratched from top to bottom with hot pink highlighter to spruce up the tarnished edges and torn binding. Withing the worn cover lays pages etched in multiple ink colors and highlighted events. Drawings, such as a man snorkeling, represent days to look forward to. On one particular day, Stonestreet, a senior at Peninsula High School, is going to Hawaii for a cruise around the islands.

Stonestreet is not an ordinary teen. Her life consists not only of school, but she also balances her chaotic lifestyle — the life she lives down to the markings on her day calendar.

Stonestreet, who has been a Girl Scout for 11 years, is working toward a Gold Award. She’s a tennis player, a member of Peninsula High’s Interact Club and Knowledge Bowl team, a speech and debate competitor and an honor student.

On top of her school work and extracurricular activities, Stonestreet is a personal assistant for local business owner David Anguiano.

Stonestreet lives by her datebook. It’s the only way she manages life outside of school.

“I don’t know what I would do if I were to lose it,” she said. “It’s my lifeline.”

Stonestreet’s tattered planner with misguided pen markings accompanies her to all of her club meetings. She uses it to mark important dates and to ensure her attendance at each event.

For Stonestreet, a week consists of running to and from her red Mustang and continually looking at her planner, which tells her of the next event that she must complete before dark.

Each Monday from 1:30 to 2 p.m., Stonestreet attends the weekly meeting for the school’s Interact Club. Without her planner, Stonestreet wouldn’t have been able to complete more than 140 hours of community service in the past year.

Stonestreet has been involved with Interact since 2005, its start at Peninsula, and she holds a position as one of the club’s board members. She has participated in events such as the Turkey Brigade during Thanksgiving, to help provide meals to the less fortunate.

“My favorite activity interact participates in is the Maritime Gig parade,” Stonestreet said. “We got everyone to do the wave, and people would ask what we did, and they started to recognize what we have done for our community.”

After interact, Stonestreet quickly walks to another classroom to join the school’s speech and debate team until 3 p.m.

Then she goes to work for Anguiano and finishes her day by working on homework and applying for scholarships.

A Tuesday is a “normal” day for Stonestreet. From 2 to 3:30 p.m., when she’s with the speech and debate team, she marks the days in her calendar that she must compete in order to fulfill her goal of returning to a state debate tournament.

A win at a state tournament could mean a trip to Las Vegas in June, in order to compete in the National Forensics League for honored competitors.

“In speech and debate, memorable moments happen, like the time we laid in the mat room together. That’s what makes this team so much fun to be a part of,” Stonestreet said.

Wednesday is the only day Stonestreet walks to her car instead of being in a constant rush. After school, she has time to chat with friends until she goes to work. Then she’ll return home to an increased load of pre-calculus and to spend time with her family.

“I love Wednesdays,” Stonestreet said as a smile grew on her face.

Thursday is the day Stonestreet rides a bus to compete in a tournament for the school’s Knowledge Bowl team.

Her planner helps her remember the dates of practice and the days she must make the activity bus. Without a clear date in her datebook, Stonestreet could be left behind without an opportunity to help her school gain a victory.

The bus ride home arrives at Peninsula at 6 p.m. Thankfully, she’s got the day off from work, which gives her more time to work on homework before getting her nine hours of sleep.

Fridays are more relaxed. At Knowledge Bowl practice from 2 to 4:30 p.m., the team practices questions and their speed of hand.

“We usually start practicing an hour after it starts,” Stonestreet said. “We make rude jokes — scratch that, the boys make rude jokes — as the girls practice their speed of hand.”

After 4:30 p.m., she drives to work to put in an hour and receive her well-earned paycheck.

Saturday is a day filled with continuous activity. There may be a three-hour Girl Scout meeting, or Stonestreet may spend the entire day at a 15-hour speech and debate tournament.

“Saturday really depends on the week,” Stonestreet said. “Some Saturday nights, I might be a at a movie, getting lost in Tacoma on the way home because Tom-Tom, my GPS system, decided that we’ll get there eventually.”

With her friends, she likes to get everyone together and spend an evening at a local restaurant, to enjoy a plate of laughs and good times.

“I love my friends. They’re like my second family,” she said. “Some I’ve known almost as long as my real family.”

Sunday is the day Stonestreet prepares herself for the next week at school, finishing homework and preparing for her early wakeup time.

“Sunday is reserved for me, and no one else,” Stonestreet said.

With this being her last year as a high school student, college life may prove itself as complex as her life at Peninsula.

“I really want to get in at the (University of Washington),” Stonestreet said. “It’s my top choice, and I love the atmosphere.”

If her dream comes true, Stonestreet may have to adapt her planner to her newfound schedule filled with college courses and extracurricular activities.

“It’s going to be hard to change,” she said. “I am ready to leave, but I have become almost comforted by my crazy life.”

Until her potential acceptance letter arrives, Stonestreet remains with her datebook in hand.

She hopes one day to toss her old days aside to start anew, on a fresh page.

Ashtin Hines is a senior at Peninsula High School. Want to be a community correspondent? Call editor Brian McLean at