Looking Back:
I have never been one to stick to the norm, and this has been seen throughout the duration of my seemingly short life. I started my small school with a technology based view lifestyle in middle school where I attended Julia Morgan School for Girls. I decided at a young age that it wasn't the right choice for me, but I clearly had been wrong. I came to ACLC in 10th grade after going to the traditional high school, Alameda High, for one year. I was not doing as well as I had hoped to do at AHS and decided to give ACLC a chance. The decision to switch high schools was one of the better decisions of my life.
My first day at ACLC was a chaotic one. I knew virtually no one, but seemed to fit in all the same. I was accepted right away into the crazy games and what not of the first day of school. I met many people, forgot plenty of names, and finally understood what I was in for after a few hours at the school. My next few days and weeks and even years went better than I could have ever hoped. I made friendships easily and soon found myself getting to know many of the friends I hold dear today. The pell-mell environment that is ACLC has not only brought up my tolerance level for all things insane, but has molded me into the person that I am today.
It is the common plague of all teens in high school or anywhere, and I am one that has fallen deep into its grasps one to many time. Procrastination. I have always, and always will be, a master procrastinator. I cannot help it. I have a problem with leaving everything until the last possible moment. Up until my days at ACLC, it hindered me in every way imaginable. I found myself finishing assignments late, or not at all, and my grades began to slip. But something about ACLC has changed that. I still procrastinate, but I am better at managing my time in order to do so. It sounds crazy, but I have become a master at the art of procrastination. I have learned to use my time wisely so that I can finish all of my work. Even if I do leave it to sit for a while.
But the true reason that I have connected to ACLC is not the technology benefits, or the free periods, or anything along those lines. It is the community. It is the connections that I have made with the facilitators. They are more of friends to me than teachers. It is the learners, whom I have bonded with over the years that I have been at ACLC. These people are the reason that I am at the school. The opportunities I have had to get to know every single one of them has made me more motivated to learn and challenge myself in ways I would have never done before. It is thanks to them that I continue to stay at ACLC.
Among these people are the members of the ACLC Ultimate team. I have connected with them more than any of the other members of the ACLC community. The Frisbee team was the first place where I felt like I belonged. They have and always will be so accepting. Mike and Vi have contributed in giving me the greatest, most enjoyable experience of my life, and I will never forget it.
In terms of academics, I have strived for higher standards. For the past two years, I have chosen to take AP English at Encinal High School. This is not because I want the grade bump, because I could get that much more ease taking the HP course at ACLC or even a college course. This is because I wanted to challenge myself and push myself to learn and grow. It has payed off in numerous ways. My love for English has increased tenfold and I have even chosen English Literature as my major in college. Through those classes, I met two teachers that I look up to with the utmost respect. I can say, with all honesty, that they have been two of the most incredible teachers that I have ever had and their classes never ceased to amaze me.
This year, I decided that, since ACLC has given me so much, that it was my turn to give back. I proceeded to run for Governing Board and now am one of the student representatives. In this small way, I feel like I am paying the community back for all that they have done. I only hope that I can do even more to express my gratitude.
Below is the essay that I wrote for Scripps College. It shows how ACLC has shaped me as a person. It further adds to the topics I was asked to discuss, such as decision making skills and personal development. It is also an awesome essay, in my opinion, and deserves to be posted here.
A New Leaf:
“Time may change me, but I can’t change time”
-Changes, by David Bowie
Throughout my life, I have found meeting new and different kinds of people effortless. This was never more true than when I first attended an all-girls middle school where I knew only two people my first day. It was not long until I grew to know my entire class, making friends with an odd mix of characters. This is not to say that I am a friend to everyone, or even that all my friendships last forever. I am only saying that, after a changing schools three times, several jobs, and sports and life activities, connecting with new people is the least of my worries.
That is, until I went to Spain. During the five weeks over the summer, I thought it was only natural that I would create friendships that would last through out the trip, and possibly beyond, especially considering that there were over fifty people my own age participating in the program. Needless to say, things do not always turn out as well as we may have previously assumed.
Before arriving, each participant filled out numerous surveys to aid the process of pairing us up with a roommate. The tedious process resulted in me getting placed with two roommates who had less in common with me than my cat Max.
How you doing today, Max?
Meow.
What’s the last great book you read, Max?
Meow.
So, what do you think of the Bush doctrine?
[silence.]
This little exchange would have been a far more enriching experience than those I faced daily with Alexis and Sandra.
Sandra, I never really got to know. She was painfully quiet and peculiar to the point where I tried to avoid her for the most part. Alexis, on the other hand, found comfort in watching dreadful movies like Fools Gold and P.S. I Love You. This became known to me because of all the things she thought important to pack for a trip to Europe. Her portable DVD player and fifteen accompanying DVD’s, being some of her prized possessions, were simply too important to leave behind. She read trashy teen novels that are almost always invariably covered with a brightly colored background and a distressed girl staring off into the distance. She always wanted to go running with me but couldn’t stand the idea of sweating. And the worst of all of her attributes was her several attempts at trying to convert me to the Republican Party.
Outside of my living situation, I had gotten to know many people, some of whom I got along with, but none of the friendships ever stuck. I found myself traveling from group to group only to be left unsatisfied after a short period of time. This phenomenon made no sense to me. Why were there no interesting people on this trip? If there were, I couldn’t seem to find them. I left on my final day in Granada with a great improvement
in my ability to speak Spanish, but a complete lack of new friends.
I have thought a lot about this trip since my return to my hometown in California. Though I made no lasting friendships on the trip, I still had an experience of a lifetime, and that’s all that counts right? There is something that is still bugging me though. Why is it that I used to be able to befriend almost anyone, even those who I didn’t like, with ease? I have begun to notice flaws in people and they pick at me until I can’t stand the person anymore. These flaws have become apparent in even my closest friends, friends
that I have had since before high school. People are changing all around me. I have found myself downgrading some of my older friends and up-ranking some of my newer ones. I could say that this is the fault of my friends who have changed and matured in different ways since last year, but I would be lying to myself. I am at fault. I have begun to outgrow my old friends and where I am in life at this particular moment. I have been
living the same lifestyle for so long that it has become routine to me. Going to Spain made me realize that I want more from life. I want to travel and learn and be everything that I can be. I expect more from people, making it harder to hide the blemishes that I had never noticed before. I’m ready to start over again, just like I have many times before, but this time I am more motivated. I have finally realized what I want, not only
from myself, but from those around me as well. Selectivity is part of my personality, and that cannot change. What I choose to select is entirely up to me.
A week or so ago, I decided to completely clean out my room. We are trying to revamp the lower floor of my house, which is currently my storage area. I disposed of old clothes that I had been keeping for sentimental reasons. That “one shirt that I got at that one camp that a person signed who I don’t know anymore” is no longer important to me. Old necklaces that friends from preschool gave to me, and stuffed animals that I had
gathering endless amounts of dust no longer clutter my dresser. I have no need for them anymore. They will always have some meaning to me, some reason to keep their presence in my life, but for now, they must be somewhere else. They will stay behind, but I will not. I will go to college and keep on living. My desires may change. I may alter my course at many points throughout my life. My goals may be achieved, and some
may not. But I will seize the opportunity to live how I choose and define my life how I want it to be defined.
Essay written by Kate Emberley
