Let go of who you think your supposed to be; embrace who you are
Section 1: How am I feeling coming into this school year? The night before school, it really hit me that summer was over. Being a typical adolescent, knowing summer is over and you have school tomorrow isn't the most exciting thought. I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep and I started to think about this question.
My brother recently came home from a 2 year mission for our church. This mission had really changed him into being a very kind matured person. The quality I noticed most was his ability to find the best in things. So, lying in my bed I started to think about finding the best in this school year.
I realized how great of a year this was going to be when you find all the good qualities of school. Coming into this school year, I feel like a freshman again with a full palette of new experiences. There were so many things last year that I never got to for example school dances, rallies, sports games. This year means I will be able to see all my friends for the entire year.
There are so many activities and events to look forward to that the excitement never stops. Finding the good in this school year isn’t too difficult when there are so many new experiences.
All of my excitement for this school year has made the bump over getting out of summer life and into school life much more bearable. So coming into this new school year, I’m thinking its going to be one of my best high school years.
Section 2:
“It always seems impossible until it is done” - Nelson Mandela. I’ve had many experiences in my life that I’m very proud of. If I were to go back in time and tell my younger self about these things I would have thought I was lying. They would have seemed impossible to do at the time. But once they've been done, your perspective on your capabilities changes for the better.
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new” -Albert Einstein My mom always wanted me to be a “well rounded kid”. In middle and elementary school, I did it all, choir, drama, voila, tennis, football, piano, basketball, scouts, karate E.T.C. I’m not gonna lie, that resume of extracurricular activities has been shortened by a decent amount as I’ve found what I'm talented at, and what I am not talented at. Even though many of the things I try I don’t end up sticking with, making mistakes and being bad at things has made me find so many of my talents and passions. If I never tried football, basketball, and other things I sucked at, I wouldn;t have tried tennis, or piano which I've found to enjoy and have gotten pretty good at.
“The best way out is always through” -Robert Frost In my family, you're allowed to stop a sport, but you're not allowed to be a quitter. In in other words, I don’t have to stick with every new thing I try but if I sign up for something, I gotta stick with it till the season is over. My 8th grade year, my mother had some mid-life crisis and allowed me to play tackle football for Ripon Chiefs. I was absolutely terrible at football, but I stuck with it for the whole year. Because even though football wasn’t cut out for me, I made a lot of great bonds with the team and learned some great life lessons.
Section 3:
"Even a small act of kindness can make a big difference in someones world"
-Muxiyadiin Ali
This quote reflects myself this year as it has been my goal since day. The difference people make in my life by doing small acts of kindness have made the world of difference to me without them even knowing. Life sometimes can be pretty rough and simply knowing that someone cares and put thought into your well being means a lot. Its a feeling I know many people are going through and I want to lead by example as I think the world could be a much better place if we cared for each other more often.
Section 4:
Two short term goals:
1. Go on a two year mission for my church
2. Graduate High School and attend BYU Provo
Two long term goals
1. Start a family and be able to provide for them to have the same experiences I have had.
2. Have a proper mindset and balance.
Section 5:
For the first of my short term goals, I have continued to grow my testimony in my church and still plan to go on a mission and have been taking the steps necessary to do so. My other goal was to graduate high school and attend BYU Provo and I am also on track to do both as I am passing all my classes and still have BYU Provo as my number 1 pick college. Looking back I defiantly should have chosen more trackable shorter goals.
For my two long term goals I am able to go a bit more in depth. When I was given my junior year ballet to pick out all of my classes for next year, some questions came into my head. I thought about all the classes I am taking right now and really thought to myself why on earth I was doing this to myself? What is the real befit to taking all these hard classes that I don't seem cut out for. Thought this year I have pondered and thought greatly about the long run. I considered bailing out on all honors and Ap classes as I knew this would give me the opportunity to really live and enjoy my high school years. But something didn't seem right about it. Then it reminded of why I'm taking the classes im taking, to show my capabilities to colleges and to be able to pursue the career I want in order to provide for my future family. Then I also felt that these high school years I have I need to cherish and not spend its entirety on my desk to complete countless work. This is where finding my balance came in. What am I capable of? It took a great deal of searching myself to figure out what I need to be doing in high school to be living the life I should be living right now, while also planning for the future and not taking the easy route.
Section 8: Someone I admire and has made an impact in my life is Jenna Skavdahl. We have become good friends during this school year and I am very grateful that I was able to do so. Jenna is one of the nicest and selfless people I know. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a negative thing come out of her and I admire her for that. Even though I can be quite annoying at times she still puts up with me and is a great friend and I look up to her.
My brother recently came home from a 2 year mission for our church. This mission had really changed him into being a very kind matured person. The quality I noticed most was his ability to find the best in things. So, lying in my bed I started to think about finding the best in this school year.
I realized how great of a year this was going to be when you find all the good qualities of school. Coming into this school year, I feel like a freshman again with a full palette of new experiences. There were so many things last year that I never got to for example school dances, rallies, sports games. This year means I will be able to see all my friends for the entire year.
There are so many activities and events to look forward to that the excitement never stops. Finding the good in this school year isn’t too difficult when there are so many new experiences.
All of my excitement for this school year has made the bump over getting out of summer life and into school life much more bearable. So coming into this new school year, I’m thinking its going to be one of my best high school years.
Section 2:
“It always seems impossible until it is done” - Nelson Mandela. I’ve had many experiences in my life that I’m very proud of. If I were to go back in time and tell my younger self about these things I would have thought I was lying. They would have seemed impossible to do at the time. But once they've been done, your perspective on your capabilities changes for the better.
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new” -Albert Einstein My mom always wanted me to be a “well rounded kid”. In middle and elementary school, I did it all, choir, drama, voila, tennis, football, piano, basketball, scouts, karate E.T.C. I’m not gonna lie, that resume of extracurricular activities has been shortened by a decent amount as I’ve found what I'm talented at, and what I am not talented at. Even though many of the things I try I don’t end up sticking with, making mistakes and being bad at things has made me find so many of my talents and passions. If I never tried football, basketball, and other things I sucked at, I wouldn;t have tried tennis, or piano which I've found to enjoy and have gotten pretty good at.
“The best way out is always through” -Robert Frost In my family, you're allowed to stop a sport, but you're not allowed to be a quitter. In in other words, I don’t have to stick with every new thing I try but if I sign up for something, I gotta stick with it till the season is over. My 8th grade year, my mother had some mid-life crisis and allowed me to play tackle football for Ripon Chiefs. I was absolutely terrible at football, but I stuck with it for the whole year. Because even though football wasn’t cut out for me, I made a lot of great bonds with the team and learned some great life lessons.
Section 3:
"Even a small act of kindness can make a big difference in someones world"
-Muxiyadiin Ali
This quote reflects myself this year as it has been my goal since day. The difference people make in my life by doing small acts of kindness have made the world of difference to me without them even knowing. Life sometimes can be pretty rough and simply knowing that someone cares and put thought into your well being means a lot. Its a feeling I know many people are going through and I want to lead by example as I think the world could be a much better place if we cared for each other more often.
Section 4:
Two short term goals:
1. Go on a two year mission for my church
2. Graduate High School and attend BYU Provo
Two long term goals
1. Start a family and be able to provide for them to have the same experiences I have had.
2. Have a proper mindset and balance.
Section 5:
For the first of my short term goals, I have continued to grow my testimony in my church and still plan to go on a mission and have been taking the steps necessary to do so. My other goal was to graduate high school and attend BYU Provo and I am also on track to do both as I am passing all my classes and still have BYU Provo as my number 1 pick college. Looking back I defiantly should have chosen more trackable shorter goals.
For my two long term goals I am able to go a bit more in depth. When I was given my junior year ballet to pick out all of my classes for next year, some questions came into my head. I thought about all the classes I am taking right now and really thought to myself why on earth I was doing this to myself? What is the real befit to taking all these hard classes that I don't seem cut out for. Thought this year I have pondered and thought greatly about the long run. I considered bailing out on all honors and Ap classes as I knew this would give me the opportunity to really live and enjoy my high school years. But something didn't seem right about it. Then it reminded of why I'm taking the classes im taking, to show my capabilities to colleges and to be able to pursue the career I want in order to provide for my future family. Then I also felt that these high school years I have I need to cherish and not spend its entirety on my desk to complete countless work. This is where finding my balance came in. What am I capable of? It took a great deal of searching myself to figure out what I need to be doing in high school to be living the life I should be living right now, while also planning for the future and not taking the easy route.
Section 8: Someone I admire and has made an impact in my life is Jenna Skavdahl. We have become good friends during this school year and I am very grateful that I was able to do so. Jenna is one of the nicest and selfless people I know. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a negative thing come out of her and I admire her for that. Even though I can be quite annoying at times she still puts up with me and is a great friend and I look up to her.
Section 9:
My inner animal would be a golden retriever. I was going to say a dog but there are so many different types of dogs and they are all so very different. The golden retriever for starters is a very social dog, they like to have many friends. I find myself to like everyone and I make friends easily because I always think about the best qualities of that person and it makes people so much more likeable then if I focus on their negatives. Something else I notice about Golden retrievers is how happy they always are. Everytime I see one they are always smiling with their tail wagging. Even when I’m stressed out, I tend to always be happy and in a good mood and if I had a tail, it would reflect that. Another characteristic of this animal is their kindness. One of my biggest goals in life is to treat people with kindness and I strive to do this everyday. Golden retrievers are quite playful which I can relate to as I love to play sports and be active. It sounds a bit odd to say I sound like a dog on the inside but the characteristics of a Golden retriever really represents my personality and is definitely my inner animal.
My inner animal would be a golden retriever. I was going to say a dog but there are so many different types of dogs and they are all so very different. The golden retriever for starters is a very social dog, they like to have many friends. I find myself to like everyone and I make friends easily because I always think about the best qualities of that person and it makes people so much more likeable then if I focus on their negatives. Something else I notice about Golden retrievers is how happy they always are. Everytime I see one they are always smiling with their tail wagging. Even when I’m stressed out, I tend to always be happy and in a good mood and if I had a tail, it would reflect that. Another characteristic of this animal is their kindness. One of my biggest goals in life is to treat people with kindness and I strive to do this everyday. Golden retrievers are quite playful which I can relate to as I love to play sports and be active. It sounds a bit odd to say I sound like a dog on the inside but the characteristics of a Golden retriever really represents my personality and is definitely my inner animal.
Section 10:
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Section 11:
Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. The lyrics go : Here comes the sun do, do, do Here comes the sun And I say it's all right Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here Here comes the sun do, do, do Here comes the sun And I say it's all right Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here Here comes the sun do, do, do Here comes the sun And I say it's all right Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear Here comes the sun do, do, do Here comes the sun And I say it's all right Here comes the sun do, do, do Here comes the sun And I say it's all right This song represents me as it is a song of optimism. I find my self to be a pretty optimistic person and to not worry about the bad parts of life as much. This song is all about letting the negatives in life just melt away and to make room for good. I find I can be my best self when I let go of these worries and troubles and allow my mind to think more positively. This song to me is also remarking on how we should find the good in others. I find myself doing this as I dislike no-one. People do get on my nerves but there are always qualities in people that I like and I focus more on those rather than the ones I'm not as fond of. |
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Section 14:
The first of my favorite memories from this year of leadership was during our classes preparation for homecoming. WWe were all at Ava Brocchini’s house setting up the float and it was very fun to socialize and bond with each other as we found the easiest flags to paint and swatted mosquitoes off each others backs.
The second memory that come to my mind is bonding with my technology commissioner through filming sports, editing videos, and setting up the sound system together has grown our relationship into a brother like relationship. He still treats me like a brother outside of leadership as he gives me rides and helps me out whenever I need it.
The third memory I think back to bonding with my sophomore class as we set up and cleaned up formal. The countless hours we waited for the tent people to arrive gave us a lot of time to talk and socialize with one another. Through this experience I have gotten to know my fellow sophomore leadership classmates much better and all of our relationships have grown.
Section 15:
For this section I chose Kylee Brown. Kylee is a very nice and caring person that makes a great fit for our class president. She always says hi and asks how im doing and can tell when im down. When I like this, Kylee asking me how I was doing and being there for me really made me feel better and made my day better overall. I know she does the same thing for everyone
The first of my favorite memories from this year of leadership was during our classes preparation for homecoming. WWe were all at Ava Brocchini’s house setting up the float and it was very fun to socialize and bond with each other as we found the easiest flags to paint and swatted mosquitoes off each others backs.
The second memory that come to my mind is bonding with my technology commissioner through filming sports, editing videos, and setting up the sound system together has grown our relationship into a brother like relationship. He still treats me like a brother outside of leadership as he gives me rides and helps me out whenever I need it.
The third memory I think back to bonding with my sophomore class as we set up and cleaned up formal. The countless hours we waited for the tent people to arrive gave us a lot of time to talk and socialize with one another. Through this experience I have gotten to know my fellow sophomore leadership classmates much better and all of our relationships have grown.
Section 15:
For this section I chose Kylee Brown. Kylee is a very nice and caring person that makes a great fit for our class president. She always says hi and asks how im doing and can tell when im down. When I like this, Kylee asking me how I was doing and being there for me really made me feel better and made my day better overall. I know she does the same thing for everyone
Section 16:
Section 18:
My favorite hobby is skiing. Wherever I’m asked if I water ski or snow ski my response is simply yes. I have been doing both since I was very little and both are my happy place. Whenever I’m having a bad day at school my mind always wishings I was waterskiing or snow skiing. Which one that just depends on how hot it is outside. I’ve stopped snow skiing with my headphones in cause I’ve found that just not talking and skiing is really calming and always me to think. Having time to think for about 5 or 6 hours while doing what you love is really therapeutic and helps me feel reconnected to my life and what’s ahead. On the other hand, water skiing is much louder and more intense, during this I feel like im in the moment and that I’m making the memories I will look at when im older and think will represent my childhood. It’s one of those things you know will be a good memory even when you’re doing it.
Section 19:
Dear Mom and Dad,
I love you both so very much and I’m so grateful for the life I’ve had that was given to me by you. Every once in a while I take a step back and think of how great my life is and all the positives. Sometimes I won’t even be thinking about physical things but there are experiences and memories that I cherish and realize without my parents, I wouldn’t have them. Going on trips to less devolved countries had made me realize how fortunate I am for the little things that I have thanks to my parents. I have many siblings and I realize raising 1 kid, let alone 6 is very physically, emotionally, and financially draining. You both have sacrificed so much of your time to homeschool all of us until high school and work countless hours to keep food on the table. We don’t thank you enough for all that you do. I love you both very much mom and dad, thank you for everything.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I love you both so very much and I’m so grateful for the life I’ve had that was given to me by you. Every once in a while I take a step back and think of how great my life is and all the positives. Sometimes I won’t even be thinking about physical things but there are experiences and memories that I cherish and realize without my parents, I wouldn’t have them. Going on trips to less devolved countries had made me realize how fortunate I am for the little things that I have thanks to my parents. I have many siblings and I realize raising 1 kid, let alone 6 is very physically, emotionally, and financially draining. You both have sacrificed so much of your time to homeschool all of us until high school and work countless hours to keep food on the table. We don’t thank you enough for all that you do. I love you both very much mom and dad, thank you for everything.
Section 20:
Dear trainee Spencer,
I highly look forward to our time together next year as technology commissioner. I am excited to teach you what to do based on what I learned from all the mistakes I made this year, to the things that went well. The first thing I recommend you do is to know what to expect. This means knowing what you’re going to have to do, the videos we need to make, and the events to record. It’ll be really helpful to know when we’re going to have to make videos as they require a lot of time to put together and knowing ahead of time helps you know when to plan to set aside time. The next thing I recommend you do is to ask questions and be very careful, our work is very public and if mistakes happen it’s very obvious, make sure you are comfortable with the rundown of the rally and what your part in it is. The final thing to keep in mind for next year is to practice excellent video recording skills. It’s actually much harder than it sounds as you have to be very steady with your hands and make sure the frame is centered. I wish I would have known how terrible footage looks if you don’t put your 100% concentration into the camera. Having good-looking footage is what’s gonna make putting together the end of the year video so much easier.
Sincerely,
Gideon
Section 21:
Do’s:
-ALWAYS Have people look over videos
-Make videos creative and fun
-Turn in homework on time
-Keep the camera steady
-Keep track of what sports I’ve recorded
-go all out for spirit days
Don’ts:
-Procrastinate
-Forget to put the sd card in the camera
-Mess up people’s names
-Swipe down from the top right corner of the phone to adjust the volume as it will pause music during the rally
-Forget to turn down the music when Naomi starts talking
Section 22:
[email protected]
Ms. Rangel, met with for Mock interview
[email protected]
Ms. Ochoa, acces to senior photos
Dear trainee Spencer,
I highly look forward to our time together next year as technology commissioner. I am excited to teach you what to do based on what I learned from all the mistakes I made this year, to the things that went well. The first thing I recommend you do is to know what to expect. This means knowing what you’re going to have to do, the videos we need to make, and the events to record. It’ll be really helpful to know when we’re going to have to make videos as they require a lot of time to put together and knowing ahead of time helps you know when to plan to set aside time. The next thing I recommend you do is to ask questions and be very careful, our work is very public and if mistakes happen it’s very obvious, make sure you are comfortable with the rundown of the rally and what your part in it is. The final thing to keep in mind for next year is to practice excellent video recording skills. It’s actually much harder than it sounds as you have to be very steady with your hands and make sure the frame is centered. I wish I would have known how terrible footage looks if you don’t put your 100% concentration into the camera. Having good-looking footage is what’s gonna make putting together the end of the year video so much easier.
Sincerely,
Gideon
Section 21:
Do’s:
-ALWAYS Have people look over videos
-Make videos creative and fun
-Turn in homework on time
-Keep the camera steady
-Keep track of what sports I’ve recorded
-go all out for spirit days
Don’ts:
-Procrastinate
-Forget to put the sd card in the camera
-Mess up people’s names
-Swipe down from the top right corner of the phone to adjust the volume as it will pause music during the rally
-Forget to turn down the music when Naomi starts talking
Section 22:
[email protected]
Ms. Rangel, met with for Mock interview
[email protected]
Ms. Ochoa, acces to senior photos
Section 24:
Something this program has greatly benefited me was all of the knowledge of professional leadership. There are so many professional skills we have gone over that will help my future self enter the workforce. The first one that I personally believed has helped me the most is professional interview practice, from knowing what to wear, knowing what you need to know, and being on time all seem easy but when it comes down to actually having one of these interviews, I’m glad to have had leadership help me. Something I’ve learned and have greatly benefited from is knowing how to answer interview questions I might not have practiced for. The company isn’t always going to tell you what questions to ask and leadership has helped me how to think and reply with quality answers on the spot. Something else I would lack without the professional development of this program is cover letters, building up a stronger essay by adding a cover letter in my opinion is something that will greatly benefit my future self when looking for jobs. It isn’t specifically the cover letter but more the idea of this is something I can use when trying to get hired to strengthen my application. Most of my friends don’t even know what this is and wouldn’t put it on their resume as it might not be “required”. Getting hired for a job isn’t some school assignment where you do the bare minimum, you do all that you can, anything extra to add to your resume to make it stronger, you add it. Doing the bare minimum will get us nowhere in life.
Section 25:
This year in leadership has been quite the wild ride for me. It has been full of many ups and downs and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. Even though not making mistakes is something we all want to do and will save us the embarrassment and struggle that follows it, we would never grow if we don’t make mistakes along the way. The projects and things I do within my position are done either in front of the class or in front of the whole school. If I mess up, and I have, they all see and it’s pretty embarrassing. Whether that’s forgetting to turn down the music, accidentally pausing the soundtrack for the seniors’ lip-sync, or spelling people’s names wrong in videos, mistakes like these where many people see in my opinion are what help us grow the most. That embarrassment you get and the bad feeling of messing up is what drives us to do better. My starting year in leadership has really helped me see how much more responsible I have to be with the work I do. A change in leadership that I think could benefit the program would be a monthly rotated seating chart. I like the idea of having a seating chart to get to know our peers better and build relationships but is randomly switched around so everyone has a chance to better know each other as the year progresses.
Section 26:
What makes the perfect leader? Becoming the "perfect leader" is something that can just happen over night, it's a long process of hardships and trials that will help you grow. The first step is going out of your comfort zone, whether thats to plan or run an event, you do it how you think it should be done... then get hammered down upon because however you did it was entirely wrong. This feeling of others being disappointed in you is what helps us learn what we need to learn. When becoming a leader in any situation, you're not given a packet of everything you need to know to be a good leader those skills need to be learned, not read. The only way to learn what you really need to do is just to try, fail, get lectured, and learn for next time. It is a lot to go through physically and emotionally. However these are the sacrifices needed to be made in order to be the perfect leader.
Section 27:
Something this program has greatly benefited me was all of the knowledge of professional leadership. There are so many professional skills we have gone over that will help my future self enter the workforce. The first one that I personally believed has helped me the most is professional interview practice, from knowing what to wear, knowing what you need to know, and being on time all seem easy but when it comes down to actually having one of these interviews, I’m glad to have had leadership help me. Something I’ve learned and have greatly benefited from is knowing how to answer interview questions I might not have practiced for. The company isn’t always going to tell you what questions to ask and leadership has helped me how to think and reply with quality answers on the spot. Something else I would lack without the professional development of this program is cover letters, building up a stronger essay by adding a cover letter in my opinion is something that will greatly benefit my future self when looking for jobs. It isn’t specifically the cover letter but more the idea of this is something I can use when trying to get hired to strengthen my application. Most of my friends don’t even know what this is and wouldn’t put it on their resume as it might not be “required”. Getting hired for a job isn’t some school assignment where you do the bare minimum, you do all that you can, anything extra to add to your resume to make it stronger, you add it. Doing the bare minimum will get us nowhere in life.
Section 25:
This year in leadership has been quite the wild ride for me. It has been full of many ups and downs and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. Even though not making mistakes is something we all want to do and will save us the embarrassment and struggle that follows it, we would never grow if we don’t make mistakes along the way. The projects and things I do within my position are done either in front of the class or in front of the whole school. If I mess up, and I have, they all see and it’s pretty embarrassing. Whether that’s forgetting to turn down the music, accidentally pausing the soundtrack for the seniors’ lip-sync, or spelling people’s names wrong in videos, mistakes like these where many people see in my opinion are what help us grow the most. That embarrassment you get and the bad feeling of messing up is what drives us to do better. My starting year in leadership has really helped me see how much more responsible I have to be with the work I do. A change in leadership that I think could benefit the program would be a monthly rotated seating chart. I like the idea of having a seating chart to get to know our peers better and build relationships but is randomly switched around so everyone has a chance to better know each other as the year progresses.
Section 26:
What makes the perfect leader? Becoming the "perfect leader" is something that can just happen over night, it's a long process of hardships and trials that will help you grow. The first step is going out of your comfort zone, whether thats to plan or run an event, you do it how you think it should be done... then get hammered down upon because however you did it was entirely wrong. This feeling of others being disappointed in you is what helps us learn what we need to learn. When becoming a leader in any situation, you're not given a packet of everything you need to know to be a good leader those skills need to be learned, not read. The only way to learn what you really need to do is just to try, fail, get lectured, and learn for next time. It is a lot to go through physically and emotionally. However these are the sacrifices needed to be made in order to be the perfect leader.
Section 27: