Masterpiece Academy Essay

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Dr. Preston

AP English Literature and Composition

8 June 2015

                                                     My Experience

            Looking back to the beginning of my senior year I remember being really scared and nervous. I don't know why though I heard from past seniors that it was a pretty easy year, but clearly that was a lie. I would have to say my senior year was by far the most stressful year, but at the same time I learned the most from this past year as well. I would have to say that I did espouse learning this year. We had to learn the curriculum in every class and of course there's always homework and tests but I actually learned more from the experiences that I went through this year. I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted to do in the future and the person that I want to be. I think we were sort of forced to look at the deeper meaning behind high school and what we go through these 4 years in order to prepare us for something more. Especially this course, it has taught me a lot of life lessons and gave me a little taste of what college is going to be like. Here's a little insight into what my experiences were and what I learned from them in this class this last year.

            Trust is a key element in any type of relationship. In order to be worthy of trusting someone with something they have to show that they are worthy of that trust. As a teacher there isn't usually this much trust that is given to students right off the bat. Automatically on the first day the relationship that we built felt like it was going to be a partnership. And it was, we were

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allowed to give our input on everything and we were free to voice our opinions and say if we wanted something changed or didn't like something. At the beginning of the year this is always the case, where students at first are on top of their work and are really focused and determined but then that slowly fades. I feel like as a class we did deserve the chance to be trusted with this course and as time went on we proved that we were worthy of it by doing what was asked of us and trying to do it to the best of our ability. Then as I said earlier the focus and determination that was once there at the beginning faded and as a class we started to slow down a little bit and became lazier because the school year was ending and we were just all done and tired. This isn’t an excuse for not doing the work that’s assigned of us since we were given respect and value by earning the trust throughout this course. Personally I believed I earned it by staying on top of my work and doing all the main assignments that were asked of us. I believe I honored it as well by showing up to class, paying attention, and listening and learning that the classroom isn't a place that's supposed to be completely structured and that's it a place where we have to be the ones to take on our own learning in order to reach the next level.

            Over the summer we were told to read three books, the Poisonwood Bible, Pride and Prejudice, and Montaigne's Essays. In the Poisonwood Bible I related to this by knowing what it felt like to start off in a new place and feel very foreign. It all started when I went to junior high because I was originally supposed to go to Lakeview but ended up going to Orcutt because my mom coached volleyball there. So I didn't really know anybody and needed to make friends, which I did but I really wasn't close to any of them. Until I went to high school. My Freshman year I walked into high school with Hannah Hurd who I just started to get to know over the summer. So high school was really intimidating cause I still felt like I didn't know who my

                                                                                                                                             
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friends were but eventually some of the people that I went to junior high with and elementary school with became my best friends. I made new friends as well so in the end I found my way and discovered the type of person I want to be. In Pride and Prejudice, I feel like we are all scared of going after something that to everyone else doesn't seem right but might feel right to us. I'm going to Long Beach and I'm majoring in Fashion Design Merchandising, which isn't your typical major. People have asked me why that and what are you going to do with that and have sort of put me down for it. Fashion and clothes and the whole atmosphere of imagining myself being a part of the fashion industry really excites me and I've known I've wanted to do this since the end of junior high. It was simple for me I just thought of something I really enjoyed and I love shopping and clothes and getting dressed up and one day if my job is to shop and style people for a living that would be the ultimate dream come true. So it doesn't matter if other people don't approve of it, as long as I love what I'm doing I'll be happy and that's all that matters. In Montaigne's Essays he had a stream of consciousness flow to it and in life I feel like nothing is ever planned or set in stone. It's a lot of bumps and turns and setbacks but all we can do is learn from everything that's thrown at us and move forward. So Montaigne's Essays show that it's alright to say what you're thinking even if it might not make sense all the time to other people, if whatever you're doing makes sense to you that's all that really matters.

            I have many passions but one that's always been there has been my passion for fashion. I recently have been thinking about my future more because I'm going to college in a few short months and I'm going to be learning and working towards my goal to be a part of the fashion industry. So in order to have the right mind set for the future I have to prepare for it. I'm doing that by starting up a fashion blog and researching a bunch of random elements about fashion. It

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gets me very excited for actually going to college knowing that I'm going to be taking courses that involves something that I love. Of course I love shopping so every time I go to a clothing store it's hard to resist buying so many things because I don't have money to waste because college is going to be expensive, so I have to learn how to budget now. Having friends that want me to style them or go shopping with them and researching fashion icons and style tips online helps resist my urge to spend money by thinking that one day if I work hard enough for it, I can make good money and buy all the clothes that I want and have a successful career that I love.

            Recently with our masterpiece presentations there have been some main ones that have made me either smile or laugh. Such as Noah and Alec's masterpiece on doing something that that involves their love for the game of baseball through being little league umpires and hearing the stories they had to tell and how this experience taught them a lot about how to be a role model and that a game and winning isn't always as important as the learning experience behind it. One presentation that made me laugh was Mile's presentation, those videos were very funny and clever and were good quality. These were a couple presentations that made me smile and laugh. 

            A theme that stuck out the most for me in a lot of presentations was connections/collaboration. In my presentation I worked with Judith and Hannah and we made connections with the children we worked with and collaborated with each other to make our own separate passions work together into a project that showcased our own special interests while making it fun for the kids and for us. In Elizabeth Smith's presentation she collaborated with 5 or 6 different girls in her happiness masterpiece, and I was one of them. We all connected through

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something that doesn't seem important such as our hair, but it's what we are doing and what some of us already did with our hair that matters. Since we all had long hair and we're all going to eventually cut it and give it to somebody who needs it more. It felt good being able to help out a classmate and a friend for a bigger cause. In Melissa and Victoria's masterpiece they both presented two different masterpieces but worked together to fulfill one common goal and that was to show that there's a story behind every person and that we're all born equal and we decide what we want to do and who we want to be. They made connections with people they don't usually talk to and learned more about them and who they are. In Ashlyn’s presentation she talked about Texas and the connections between California and Texas and taught us a lot of new facts that I had no idea about. She collaborated with Haley Kestler who helped her come up with the idea about doing her masterpiece on Texas. Another masterpiece that showed collaboration and connections was Courtney's. She put together a sideshow about her experiences she had with Special Olympics and the connections she made with people and the collaboration she had to do with different people in order to run a club and put on events. So I can literally talk about every single person's masterpiece and say how they included connections and collaborations because that is such a unifying theme, but these were some that stuck out the most personally for me.

            I believe that my hero's journey is only just the beginning. High School and my learning experiences throughout these past few years have set up a foundation for where I want to go from here. I don't believe I'm a hero quite yet, that's a goal that I strive to be. Not a hero in general but to be someone's hero, to be someone's mentor, and to have someone look up to me would be the ultimate honor. We all just want to feel like we're good enough for someone or something and to be a hero is to have reassurance by someone that believes that you've made a

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difference in a life. My journey this past year has been a little bit of a roller coaster ride but I feel like I answered the call to my own adventure but I feel like there's still so much living and learning to do, that this is only the start of my life and I can only become more enlightened from this moment on.

            High school may be drawing to an end and right now for me it kind of seems like the end of a really good thing. For me high school was so far the best adventure that I've been on. I'm not a very emotional person but lately I've been very moody and I'm not usually this bad and I honestly think my subconscious is making me act out because high school is going to be over. Even though the work at times was hard and I had many breakdowns and long nights, the connections and friendships I've made are ones that I'll always cherish and miss, that made everything worth going through worth it. Every single person, opportunity, and obstacle I've faced I've gained something from it and have grown as a person. This part of my life is coming to an end but there is still so much living I have yet to do and I'm really excited for what the future holds. Through this course I've learned that I have to take charge of my own learning experience in order to get anything out of it. It may be hard at times to try to motivate yourself but that's just a part of growing is learning to do things on your own to grow into being an independent and strong person that is confident and passionate about life's big adventure.