Reflection Essay
Intro
I remember walking into the center at the Encinal High School campus, seeing kids running around and a completely stained carpet and looking over at my dad with complete confusion. That's the day I truly learned not to judge a book by its cover. On that day I was greeted by so many of my soon to be classmates and long lasting friends. At my other schools I was just simply looked at as the popular jock who hanged out with the older kids but here it was different. Here I knew I was gonna be someone special, someone that people cared about, and someone who could feel at home. In one day I knew ACLC was the place for me. That night I told my parents I was transferring and that the following Monday would be my first day at my new school. I look back at the day and am so proud of my 11 year old self who fought for the place I wanted to be in because it turned out that ACLC was one of the best things that ever happened to me. ACLC has not only taught me to be academic and that schooling is very important but also what it is to be a leader and an active member in a community. I thank ACLC so much for molding me into someone who is able to have a unique balance of intelligence, emotion, and work ethic in any aspect of life.
Personal qualities, work habits, and attitudes.
Even at a young age my sociability skills were very advanced. I would have no problem standing up on stage talking about any topic for any time period and any amount of people. I also always gravitated towards the leadership position due to my loud voice and hate for awkward silences. So while many might say that ACLC taught them to work with others and to step up and take action, I had a different experience. All of my teachers could quickly see the type of kid I was in the class and instead of just shaking it off they worked with me to realize that their are other people in the class and that a true leader doesn't force people into a certain direction but guide them there. The community in ACLC that really helped me in more the social aspects was my leadership class for three years. I learned how to self-evaluate myself before others and how to think before do. All these habits that were being taught to me became qualities that I carry today and plan to take with me when I graduate and for the rest of my life.
New basics
Throughout my time at ACLC I was able to use the concepts of new basics in many ways. I have met all the requirements to graduate ACLC and in my opinion have exceeded all of them. I was never very interested in school or really liked any subject besides history. I decided that I didn't want to take a bunch of college classes because everyone else does and I felt that it would have been a waste my time by doing extra courses; so I used that extra time to pursue my interest in history and politics. At the age of 17 I have had three internships with different local high powered politicians, Elizabeth Echols, Rob Bonta, and Barbara Lee. In these internships I was able to excel at my knowledge of new basics by using math for constituents and spreadsheets, as well as writing by having to reply to around 50 emails a day, my English and grammar skills by having to talk one on one with other staff and local representatives. Instead of sitting in a classroom learning about more ways to use tangent and sine I went into the outside world and directly used the skills I gained. ACLC really influenced me to take the basics of math, science, English, and history and imply it everywhere in my life. Whether that is for an internship, a job, a leadership position in ACLC, or one day raising a family, ACLC has given me the confidence and skills to apply to concepts of new basics in every stage of my life.
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Thinking and Reasoning Skills
After growing up in the ACLC community for many years I have developed a great skill for problem solving in difficult situations that required thought at random times. I was president of Dance Committee my sophomore, junior, and senior year and have been able to demonstrate these skills very well. I was able to turn around a club of 15 members to 40 and have more than four very successful dances at ACLC. Our school was known to have pretty "lame" dances. For example my first dance as a middle schooler consisted of 40 attendees in the center with a senior playing music from his iPod. The last dance I planned was a high school prom that had more than 200 attendees, a professional caterer, Photo Booth, a professional DJ, and a venue besides the ACLC center. Not only did I have to plan all the fun details as president of the committee but also had to plan all the logistics. For almost all dances we sent five to ten emails to listserv, gave announcements during CCC, and made posters all around the school. I think this success shows how I was able to plan very carefully, most of the time by myself, have organized plans, and be able to think even on my feet. There were always problems whether it was not having the key to the venue or the DJ was late but I was also able to use the skills ACLC has taught me to think and reason with the problem and be able to fix it.
Interpersonal Skills
As a young middle school student I was often overwhelmed with all the clubs and traditions of ACLC that I could take part in. In middle school I often didn't know what to do because I was scared that I wouldn't be elected or that it was going to be too much work but as soon as I applied to be in leadership and got admitted that all changed. I went from a student who had no extracurricular activities but soccer to an active leader in my community from many aspects. With my position in leadership I started to build my college resume but also develop my interpersonal abilities. The leadership class really modeled me into a passionate learner who wanted to take part in many changes ACLC was undergoing. In freshmen year I became active in so many clubs and activities that I barely can remember them all. I used that year to really find the areas in which I was interested and knew that I could make a positive difference. Throughout my high school career, I was Dance Committee president, Interact Vice President, Toastmasters Founder and President, leadership member, student representative for the CCEF committee and Standards and Curriculum committee, member of other committees such as leadership conference, courtyard planning, Girl Up, and walk-a-thon, I was elected to be the CLCs representative, I was a peer counselor, and many more. By holding these positions I felt that I needed to influence my school into the best way possible. I realized as an older learner now I had to be a role model to many of the student body who elected me. This was a position that I loved to have because I always felt that I was directly making a positive impact on the school community. Through many of my meetings, discussions, and even arguments I was able to develop and improve on my communication skills. I learned to rely implement the basic teaching of, listen, stop, think, and reply which greatly helped me when wanting to communicate my ideas. I also learned how to persuade students to listen to me when needing to follow a rule or new tradition. I learned how to motivate others in my community to get involved with things that may not look as admirable as waffle club or mind craft club. Through the many leadership positions I have taken in the ACLC community I now feel ready to exercise these skills when I go off to college and need to address situations in a more mature and positive way. I now understand what it feels like to have interpersonal skills that no one can take away from you.
Technology
I think one thing I wish I could tell younger Tallulah was to use the technology ACLC has to offer in a more intelligent way rather than using it for paint and leisure time. I was always blown away by the trust ACLC gave to the students at a very young age to have complete access to all technology a school could offer. As I grew older I soon realized that I could check out a brand new canon camera for the weekend if I desired, or use a chrome laptop any time, or even mess around on a Mac creating my own song using any instrument I pleased. Once I started using these new advancements of the 21st century I started to realize how much I could improve on my quality of work, gain new interests, and even save time. I had way less homework now that I used the computers during free periods to do homework. I was able to gain many professional work skills that puts me already ahead of many people by knowing how to use any word program, PowerPoint, Prezi, even code a few things. I quickly was able to learn how informative and helpful excel was when needed, which happens to be a lot. The amount of computer programs I was able to learn is dramatic and even helped me at my internship by giving me the knowledge many of my colleagues had to make a spreadsheet or work the fax machine and more. By ACLC giving me the tools and lessons to be completely fluent in the language of technology I am grateful in so many ways, not only have I saved many trees but I also gained a skills that will benefit me in any community or aspect for the rest of my life.
Conclusion
I want to thank all my teachers and friends at ACLC who have impacted my life for the better. I have learned so much from this brat community and will be in gratitude to this school for the rest of my life. Whether it was when Erin was helping me on my interpersonal skills or Danny on new basics, I thank everyone for the help they have given me to make the confident and intelligent learner I am today. I am excited and filled with ambition for the next stage in my life that is which college and without the influence from the ACLC community I don't think I would've felt the same.