The
Journey
This course was more
than just a trip from a point in time to another; it was an experience and one
worth remembering. I came into this class a boy and left a man. I
believe that my peers, I can only speak for my period, have earned the trust allotted.
We never did anything ridiculous like alter the blog in a negative way, adding
good content, and kept the flow going. I can’t say it was “earned” as we were
given that trust on the first day but I can say we did utilize it and not abuse
it so we earned and maintained the privilege to the end. Our unspoken contract
was honored in every manner. We went through the perils of standardized
testing, applying for college, and the AP tests only to be meet with the next
challenge of actually getting into a college.
Some of us got our first choice
others were meet with sorrow. In between this time however we got reintroduced
to the things we enjoy. The passion I have been reintroduced to was being an
autodidact. I used to learn a lot on my own but was limited the last few years
to only podcasts and YouTube videos I found interesting as I was always busy
with school, sports, volunteering, family etc. This year for my masterpiece I
got to explore on my own and learn about things I cared about. I learned about
the Prussian System instead of just going through the motions of it, which I
really enjoyed. The commonality of the masterpieces however varied the topic
and presenters, was the excitement for what the people did when they weren’t
ordered to do for some arbitrary purpose. No one made a masterpiece on anything
they weren’t curious about. Helping people was the most common thing people had
an interest in with Stevie, Ephraim, Judith, Sierra, Hannah, Sierra, and others
focusing on whether that be via volunteering or pursuing a career in medicine.
I can’t say after this
year or high school in general or even beyond that to life as a whole, that I
am a hero. I can say however over the course of this year I went through a lot
and came out a better person. No I didn’t slay any dragons or become a king for
a day only to die but I did make it out somewhat intact. I answered the call to
adventure by deciding to go through this convoluted process of applying to
college and did accomplish something by getting into a school I wanted to go
to. Can I say I returned enlightened... not as enlightened as the Buddha but
definitely with more knowledge; college will hopefully be a similar adventure
at learning. My learning sadly will not dawn upon me in the form of an epiphany
or divine intervention but slowly over time by my own will. And now I stand
ready to face my next challenge in New York and hopefully return even more
glorious and not end up like Beowulf’s encounter with that dragon. Shout out to
my favorite books and to that good humor today from Miles and Emilio’s group
video was very funny. Those novels that felt so true to me were Ayn Rand with Atlas
Shrugged, George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Shakespeare in Hamlet.
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