I believe creativity can heal, strengthen, and influence a person's spirit in time of need. Ever since I was a little girl ballet has been the center of my world. I loved everything about ballet; the big mirrors in the classroom, the repetitive movement of combinations, the soothing sound of the classical piano, and even the smell of old pointe shoes.
I don't remember much before 5th grade, but one prominent memory I have is seeing my dad in the audience for the first time in a year at my fifth grade graduation. He had been sent to a rehab center after his latest suicide attempt and I only visited him once that whole year. It was terrifying to see him but also a relief to know that he was alive. He looked different. He had a beard and his frame was thinner than I remembered. I stood there frozen for a moment trying to sort out my emotions. I didn’t know if he was coming home or just stopping by. Later that day we talked like everything was normal, there was no mention of the hospital or an absent dad. Being that young, I didn't understand why he had been away for so long and why he didn't take me to school anymore. My emotions were all scrambled and at that moment, all I wanted was to be at dance in the safe haven I always retracted to. Dancing twenty-five hours a week has definitely kept me occupied and grounded. When I am upset, anxious, or feeling down, going to class and working hard lifts my spirits and makes me forget everything bad that has happened in the day. Ballet has taught me discipline, artistry, mental and physical endurance, and to be attentive, but most of all is has provided an escape from the chaos in my life. I know that my dad's actions don't define me but the thought of my father not being healthy and happy is terrifying. I have always loved my dad and always will, but even the strongest love can’t make up for the inconsistency and absence. However, I have learned to tolerate the bad, cherish the good and accept him for who he is.
Jason Fontillas
Ever since I took Yearbook in my sophomore year, I have developed a greater appreciation for the art of photography. In my mind, there is a very clear distinction between thinking analytically and thinking creatively. The way my brain thinks in Language Arts differs drastically from how it functions during Calculus. Photography allows me to find a mixture between those two mindsets.
In math, I can think through a problem that has a definitive answer. With some problems, I can recognize a specific approach or formula to answer the question. I equate this to when I am at a sporting event taking pictures: my problem being how to take the picture and my answer being the final print. Balancing a number of factors, such as adjusting the light sensor or aperture of the lens, is the part of the problem that I am given to work with. I need to consider a variety of variables of the situation, from picking the best angle for a good background to researching anything that might be special for that game that I am shooting. With all these logistical factors in my problem solved, I am just left with the final step of picking my subject of the picture.
This is where the artistic thinking of an abstract concept can be applied while shooting. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, my shots need to have meaning behind what is going on in the photo. If I am taking pictures at a soccer game, I don’t want the photo to say he is kicking a ball -- I want my picture to capture the atmosphere and mood of the moment. By thinking creatively, I look for the little moments that people are unaware of, such as a subtle facial expression that the athlete might make in between the action of a game.
Pictures that people will be able to look back at and remember the mood from a clear photo are the answers to my problems. Photography is what allows me to express both creativity and innovation in my thinking. I believe that photography can be for everyone. In this day and age, pictures are a huge part of our lives. Whether you are a pro or amateur, photography will always be a way to provoke emotion and memories of the past.
Erica Lee Sound Waves
When I was nine years old, you couldn’t find me anywhere without my iPod grasped firmly in my hand. You wouldn’t see me without my headphones in, bopping my head slightly to the beat of the song that was consuming me, lip syncing to the lyrics I knew all too well. Almost a decade later, nothing has changed. I hold my phone in my hand with one headphone in my right ear as I navigate the hallways at school, the shop in the mall, and at the dinner table. Music is the one constant in my life that I believe has changed me and the world altogether.
I grew up with punk rock in my veins, I like to say. Green Day and Fall Out Boy were my go-to bands. I fell in love with the genre, and to this day, it remains my favorite type of music. Punk rock shaped me into the person I am today, leading me in the direction of discovering a world of music lovers connected by mere sound waves. That’s all music is, anyway: sound waves. But if you can take the time to appreciate what’s behind them, you’ll find a form of art that is universal. Unlike language, there are no boundaries. Music makes us, as a world, more connected.
Music taught me how to love. Musicians use their talent to write about personal experiences, important lessons, dreams, beliefs, and to tell stories. They write their music not only for themselves, but also for their listeners. Just by listening, I learned many valuable lessons through my music, allowing me to view the world in ways I would have never been able to see otherwise. Music helped me make friends. Through mutual music tastes, I have been able to make some of my best friends. It became a gateway into discovering a side of me that could relate to others who shared the same passions as me, creating a connection that is unique compared to other friendships.
Music made me a better person. It saved me, literally, and when I was able to climb out of the dark hole of despair I was stuck inside, it molded me into a stronger, better, more victorious version of myself. That’s all thanks to this one song, Therapy by All Time Low. It guided me on the path to living a life where I could love myself, and it did it when I needed saving the most. All it took was pressing the play button.
Without music, I don’t know where I would be today, who I would be as a person, and what I would love unconditionally. Without music, I wouldn’t be me.
Anonymous I believe in the starving artists I believe in the classical harpist I believe in the famous writer I believe in the abandoned typewriter I believe in the world wide web designer I believe in the spider web designer I believe in kind souls I believe in those that haven’t achieved their goals I believe that everyone has the right to express their creativity no matter their culture, gender, ethnicity or economic background. I believe that creativity is not a privilege I believe that there should be no walls between a child and their artistic and musical creativity. I believe in creativity.
Grace Butler I believe in quite a few things, family, friends, morals, intuition, and I could write an entry about any one of these beliefs. However, whenever I read this prompt I can’t help being drawn to a different type of belief. Whenever I think of the words “this I believe,” I think of a song that I first heard in Disney’s Peter Pan Sequel movie, Return to Neverland. It is a song by the Lovin’ Spoonful called “Do You Believe In Magic.” The only lyric that I can ever remember is “Do you believe in magic in a young girl’s heart,” and my answer is always “yes”.
To be clear, this does not make me oddly superstitious or an extreme daydreamer. I plan to pursue science as a career, but I don’t think that means that I can’t believe in magic too. I think of magic as a form of imagination and comfort. It allows me to imagine wondrous realms in which I can dream of an alternate existence. Alright, that may make me sound a little crazy, but I simply mean that I enjoy dreaming. I am still grounded in the present, but it doesn’t hurt to escape every once in awhile. In fact, using my brain to think about something with no boundaries can help me relax or give me a fresh perspective on my work.
I love the song lyric because it makes me think about the imaginative and excited spirit of little kids and it makes me more determined to never grow up, at least not completely. I believe that everyone could use a little magic in their life, which brings me to another point. Magic is not always dragons and pixie dust, magic can exist in our everyday lives if we choose to see it. Simple acts of kindness that bring light to someone’s day can be just as powerful as, if not more so, than any spell. One of the Tinkerbell movies even argues this idea. They say that every time a baby laughs, a fairy is born. Alright, so now you know that I DO believe in magic, but the question is, do YOU?
Anonymous
Babysitting two little boys, I learned all about the different kinds of dinosaurs. I learned about the obvious ones like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Triceratops, but they also went into detail about the most obscure creatures that I had never heard of before. I learned that these two little boys, ages five and seven, knew so much more about this subject than I ever did.
Counseling a camp for preschoolers, I learned all about elevators. I learned that there are different types, which ones are the most efficient, and even about the tallest elevator in the world, which is the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, in case you were wondering. I learned all of this from a four year old, someone who is fourteen years younger than me.
Eating dinner with an old family friend, I learned all about being a midwife. I learned about the midnight calls that drag you out of bed after you just settled in to go to sleep. I learned about the months of anticipation, waiting for that precious baby to be born. I learned about the flood of tears and emotions that drowns you as you catch a newborn infant in your arms and hand them to their mother for the first time. And I learned that after that moment, you get ready to do it all over again with the next family that you work with. Sitting at church with a ninety-seven year old man, I learned all about faith. I learned how far patience and dedication can take you. I learned how important it is to discover your values and to truly internalize them. I learned how important routine is and how much impact small things can have on your life once you make the effort to do them everyday.
Looking back on these moments, I learned that everyone is a teacher. I believe that everyone’s life is made up of unique experiences specific to them. Because of this, I believe that you can learn something from everybody you meet, and that it is essential to not take people and their wisdom for granted. I believe that no matter what their age may be, everyone has something valuable to share and teach others. I believe that everyone is important and should be given the voice to share their knowledge with the world.
Chava Kornfeld
We take for granted the people who give us most in our life. Everyone is guilty of it. Those who love us unconditionally make us smile and help us grow. Most of us can always count on our parents to love us unconditionally and our friends to always be there to cheer us up (a little cliche); however, it is arguable that many help us grow in life. But who really gives us the tools and skills to navigate the world and map out our life? Our teachers. Yes, we all have teachers that solely give us busy work and are teaching only to make our lives miserable, but others are getting $40,000 a year to love us unconditionally and give us the tools to make $1,000,000 a year, and could very possibly have the most difficult jobs in society. They are the one’s teaching the next generations how to lead the world. In a public school system, many, have inexperienced, unenthusiastic teachers. Yet we are blessed. Our teachers love their students, love their job, and love the difference they are making in each student's life. I have been fortunate to have had teachers change me and the outlook I have on life. Their spirit and passion allows me to go out and seek mine by giving us not only materialistic tools, but skills to learn work ethic, teamwork, and self confidence. Think about this. Our teachers all went through high school and the same process that we go through each day, but they chose to come back and relive it. That in and of itself is truly mind-blowing and somewhat puzzling. Not just anyone would choose to do that as their day job, which is what makes these individuals all so special. We complain about getting up at 6:00 a.m. for school but so do they! Not because they have to but because they want to. This outlook on life that I can learn from my teachers is one of the greatest lessons I’ve obtained: Do something because you want to, not because you have to. Take a class that you want to take, not that someone else wants you to take or because you think you have to take it. Choose friends that you like, not that other people want you to like. In this chapter of my life, this lesson will guide my future, to choose somewhere where I want to go to college, not where others want me to. I know that I will always be able to remember each and every teacher I have had throughout my learning experience, both the good and the bad, but I owe to them the person I have become and the things I will go on to do in the world. They gave me the tools and allowed me to grow,to pick something that I want in life, and to truly never take for granted those showed me the way. This, I believe.
Anonymous
I believe in the power of Music, more specifically, the power that Music has to change one’s mood in just a matter of seconds. I have played the Violin now for over 12 years and over the course of these 12 years, I’ve learned what making music is all about.
At the young age of 6, my parents decided that piano was not for me and they let me choose amongst a large variety of instruments, what I wanted to pursue next in my Music career. I landed on the violin, a small yet beautifully crafted instrument that made me feel so professional.
This excitement for the violin soon died however and at the age of 10, I was debating on quitting this instrument just like I had done with the piano. My private teacher at the time, however, was able to convince me to keep at the instrument, promising that I would see positive results if I just continued to practice.
Since that day, violin has become more than just a fancy piece of wood with strings. It is much more. It is another way for me to express myself without having to say a word. It is a way for me to escape the everyday stresses of homework and life and rather enjoy the making of music. I believe that music has the power to change, motivate, and help people. Through music I’ve met the most amazing people from all around the world.
From concerts at school to state level concerts with the best musicians in Colorado, I’ve learned to play at the top level. I’ve learned to broaden my taste in music because of my appreciation for classical music. Through the many hours of practices at 6 am to the plethora of concerts, I’ve learned to love classical music for what it is. Not the stereotypical boring and slow music that everyone falls asleep to but rather the incredibly emotional music and expression that is produced from my violin.
During my senior year of highschool, my violin snapped in half due to an accident where another peer of mine had stepped on the neck of it. Initially, I was in such shock and disbelief that all I could do was forget about it that day. I didn’t realize just how sad I would be in the days to come.
As I looked at my shattered violin that I had used for the past 12 years, I felt my heart break slowly. I cried and I asked why and I acted as if I had lost a person I had loved. However, my violin was a person that I had loved with all my heart. It was my companion for the past 12 years and was what allowed me to become the musician I am today. All the violinist does it read and play the notes however it is the violin that produces the beautiful sound.
I had lost my partner. My companion. Luckily he was fixed up and I now continue to produce the beautiful classical music that I fell in love with 12 years ago.
Gerald Robinson
I believe in carrying a deck of cards wherever you go. For me as a magician it is so I can perform magic anywhere, anytime. But a deck of cards is more than that. It is a connection to everyone else. Everyone has a card game they can teach, or a magic trick to show. Shuffling cards calms my friends when we are stressed. They help me when I want to fiddle. I never thought any object would affect my life so much as a deck of cards.
Cards break down barriers. The first time I met my high school girlfriend she was crying; her friend called me over and told me to tell her that she looked pretty today. I said it and the girl rolled her eyes. I proceeded to kneel down, reach into my pocket, and grab the deck of cards. I started doing magic and after a while her face turned from sad to excitement to wonder. Cards always break the ice. I feel ten times more comfortable talking to someone when I have a deck of cards in my hand.
Cards and magic also can work, regardless of language. Anyone can shuffle a deck of cards and anyone can be fooled by a magic trick. When I was in middle school I was able to help out disabled kids during a free period. This one girl named was confined to a wheelchair, mute, and could not control her left hand. I would take her on walks around the building saying “Hi!” to different teachers. Then one day the teacher of the special needs kids told me to show Sophie a magic trick. I showed her a simple trick because she could not engage too much. After I revealed that the card she had picked had magically appeared in my pocket her eyes lit up! I think I was more astonished than she was. I had never seen such expression from her. She was completely aware of everything around her but she could not communicate, and the magic trick brought her emotion out.
I believe that you should carry a deck of cards around, to play games, to flirt with girls, or to just interact with another human being without having a screen in your face. (Also buy Bicycle brand cards, no one likes the gift shop cards, no one.)
Anonymous
I know many people that decided not to continue with their fifth grade instrument past fifth grade, but that didn’t make it any less valuable. During our bad orchestra classes many people never really tried to learn their clarinet or trombone but I still believe that being exposed to music was incredible helpful. High school orchestras and bands would look very different had every single student not chosen some instrument to start and been exposed to real music for the first time.
Some schools across BVSD have already made fifth grade instrumental music optional and the district tried to make it optional for the 2016-17 year. Last spring enough students who took fifth grade instrumental music complained and protested that they chose to not do away with it. BVSD has clearly voiced that it doesn’t think the 80 minutes of music education for fifth graders is necessary and would prefer that fifth grade students didn’t get removed from their classes for 80 minutes each week, but I believe that that time is the most valuable that fifth graders get.
In fifth grade, there was nothing I wanted more than to not be in that one room for more time during the day and I know for sure that everyone in my classes looked forward to art, music, library, and gym solely because it meant that we got to leave our classroom. The extra 80 minutes that the music education would never be put to any more practical use if it were added to the entire rest of the school week that fifth graders spend in their classrooms.
Not only would that time just be wasted if not put to music education, all of the high school and middle school ensembles would see drastically less people in them and would go down in quality substantially. Fifth grade is a time when every student can get free lessons on how to start an instrument, something that can cost a lot of money later, that helps so many young artists start their career in music. I learned to read music there, I started having fun learning music in those classes, and I believe that cutting this program would hurt the district’s art programs across the board.
Many subjects are required from the moment we start school and it makes me happy that music is one of them. The core requirements, however, drop music as soon as possible because the district doesn’t see the value in continuing it passed elementary school and cutting back when students can stop taking music even earlier would only hurt the music programs further up in middle school and high school. The music programs at Summit Middle School and Fairview High School have done so much for me and the entire student body and they are already losing numbers for next year.
Fairview would not be the incredible music school that it is today had all of its students not tried some instrument for a year in fifth grade and I don’t want to come back to Fairview later in life to see that the program I love so much has fallen. I believe strongly that instrumental music education for fifth graders should not be optional and cutting it could be disastrous for the growth of many young musicians.
Nicholas Sapsin
One warm Thursday afternoon my teacher mentioned, quite offhandedly, how to live happily. Most of what he said was lost on me, but one line sticks out. He said, “The perfect man should have no opinion.” I thought it sounded ridiculous. First of all, without opinions how do you make choices? Sitting around indecisively does not seem like happiness to me. Despite my skepticism, his words preoccupied me through the rest of day, during my drive home. They sat next to me at the dinner table, and waited impatiently while I slept.
The next day I was in the midst of a minor road rage episode. Someone cut me off to pass then promptly slowed down to a snail’s pace. I was furious, and I continued that way for several more miles, stewing even after the offending vehicle had disappeared. My realization that it was in truth my fault I was upset, was aggravating. Then I thought, instead of having an opinion of the other driver’s lack of skill and tact, what if I just didn’t care? It was just like my teacher said: difficult.
After I opened the door for the idea of not having an opinion, I realize that my teacher didn’t mean all opinions, just ones that cause you to miss out on what you care for. Emptying my mind of unwanted negative emotion and opinion leaves empty space that can actually be used. The empty space leaves room for me to consider how I can make myself more relaxed. It’s a work in progress, but the goal is personal improvement in small ways. If next time I’m cut off in traffic I’m fine with it, that is improvement. I believe in personal improvement. I continually try to do something (it can be tiny) to better myself. I can be more compassionate, more self aware. I believe that improvement with my martial arts, my philosophies, my ability to understand others is vital to being a complete person. I believe that if I devote myself to improvement, there will come a time when I am able to turn what I’ve learned around to make the world around me a little kinder and a little simpler.
Emily Losinski
I believe in music education. Music education is so abundantly important for many more reasons than the touted “it will make our kids smarter.” Yes, it is true that there are countless studies that wave data in our faces about how music education promotes creativity and can cause higher test scores, but the student’s humanity is again lost in the numbers of data points. Part of what makes music so great is that it is an outlet for students to be more than just another test score or another figure to arrange in a silly little table. Music teaches much more than scales and creativity, it teaches you how to be a good human being and how to succeed in life.
The student/band director relationship is very different than the student/teacher or student/coach relationship. Band directors shape and raise kids to be the best people they can be while also teaching them to be the best musicians they can be. From day one kids learn the importance of integrity when putting away their own chair and stand or the effect of encouragement as they themselves and their peers learn a new instrument. Music brings kids together in a very different way than a sports team. There is no benching your trumpet player, or giving your cello a red card, every member has to participate 100% of the time. This participation puts value on the accountability one must have while participating. As musicians, we play our hearts out, growing into not only good musicians, but good people.
It is through my experience in band and in music that I have become the person and the leader I am today. From day one of band camp freshman year of high school I understood my importance and my place in the program. Even though at the time that just meant that I understood the importance of attendance and practicing at home, my time in music already gave me the ability to look at the bigger picture. As I progressed in my high school music career I started to take on leadership roles. I had to learn how to deal with not only my peers, but with staff and parents too. I had to grow up, and I had to have skills in leadership some people never learn. I have learned how to compromise and how to deal with difficult people. I have learned how to praise and I have learned how to criticize. I have learned to be a successful person in virtually any aspect of my future.
Music gives kids a chance to explore their better qualities in an environment that promotes creation and leadership. It is so much more than just another way to boost test scores. Kids in music--and in the arts in general-- grow so much more as people and as leaders. The skills we all learn are not skills that can be learned in any other class or in many other settings. Kids in music are the kids that go far and are the best people you will meet in life.
I believe in music education because it is very dear to my heart and nothing else makes me fight as hard as I do for music.
Anonymous
In my second year of highschool, I felt stressed and pressured to continue with the IB diploma track. I don’t know which was the bigger influence, my peers or myself. All my friends were on the IB track and my mom wanted me to take classes that would challenge me. I wanted to meet my mom's expectations and pushed myself to be academically equivalent to my friends. But I felt stressed almost all the time. The only ways to stress-relieve were swimming and working. Through swimming, I was able to forget about school and enjoy time with my friends. But it was only for short periods of time per day and swimming ended in spring. I also worked as a camp counselor at the East Boulder Rec Center during the school breaks. My anticipation for the breaks was due to the idea of playing with campers. What once made my day was when a fourth grader told me they have a tougher time in school than I do. Being with children reminded me how to be stress free, but that would end almost immediately after returning to school as I began to accumulate tests and homework. As my sophomore year came to an end, it contained my lowest high school GPA but also the greatest internal growth of my high school career. I realized that I should take classes I would enjoy and try to keep a balanced workload. I also learned that I loved working with children and decided that I want to pursue a career in teaching. Both junior and senior year, I became a co-teacher at Southern Hills Middle School. Co-teaching became one of the highlights of my highschool career as I got to help eighth graders with math and science as well as practice giving lessons. From enjoying working with kids at the Rec Center as well as enjoying my time as being a co-teacher, I realized that I want to pursue a mathematics or secondary education major to become a mathematics teacher at the secondary level. I also want to pursue a neuroscience degree, something I am extremely interested in and enjoy.
Through my internal growth sophomore year, I came up with a three concepts for my how I should live:
Overall, I want to be happy. If I looked back on the snapshots of my life, I want to be happy for the choices I made, mistakes I overcame, struggles I endured, failures that occurred, and accomplishments I achieved. When looking at the future, I want to choose things I either enjoy, feel strongly about, or that help other people in the world.
Regret is a thing of the past and therefore should be let go. There is absolutely no way I can remedy something that has already happened or passed. The lingering memories of my mistakes that I cling on to are, in fact, just memories.
Lessons can be found in any situation. Although it is important to live in the moment, it is important to be aware of what is going on around me and to learn from the experience. Was it fun? Horrible? A lesson? Worthwhile to do again?
I want to add one piece of advice that I finally internalized my senior year. Advice: No one is perfect.This was an important lesson from one of my teachers. My teacher asked the class “Name five people that are perfect.” Silence “Four.” Silence “Three … two … just one?”
Although these concepts and advice are my own, it is hard to actually execute them. I still dwell on the regret of not playing tennis freshman or sophomore year because I love it now, not making friends with many high schoolers outside of Fairview, and not applying for more scholarships (because college is expensive). But overall, I believe that I was, am, and will be happy and hope to continue to make the choices that will lead me to smile at my snapshots of life.
Anonymous
Every now and then, my dad calls me over to his computer, or his phone, or some other random gadget he's obtained, and asks me for help with it, like I'm his IT guy or something. Funny thing is, he works at Dish. He's got this idea that I know everything about technology. Sometimes he asks me things out of the blue, like, “Why doesn't a sixteen gigabyte iPod hold sixteen gigabytes of music?” And I suppose, using tech as much as I do (what with my pretty much everyday use of iPads, iPods, computers, and video game systems), that I do know a lot, and I have picked up quite a number of little tricks that work in a variety of computer-related areas. But the things I don't know far outnumber the things I do know. For example, I know how to turn a device off and on again as a general fix (and you'd be surprised how many times that actually fixes the problem), and I know that I can fit more music on my iPod by limiting the bitrate of the songs I add. But I don't have the first clue as to why our computer runs so slowly over wifi when my iPad works fine, or why our antivirus software is constantly using almost a third of the computer’s processing power. I believe that there's always more to know.
In recent years, I've come to believe that this is also true of people. I've noticed in the past that I've been (both consciously and unconsciously) changing my behavior for different situations. Sometimes I would push myself to speak up more, when I wanted to give the impression that I would not rather just listen to a conversation and be some kind of silent weirdo. Other times I would specifically not mention my love of video games, because I thought that the common opinion of such people was that they're trash-talking slackers. And when I'm playing music, I filter what I choose—no explicit/suggestive lyrics around my parents, mostly pop and alternative when I'm with my friends, leaving the really weird songs, the ones with lyrics in other languages, and the majority of my favorite EDM for when I'm alone.
I was never really sure whether other people did this too until I read John Green’s novel, Paper Towns. In the book, a girl called Margo Roth Spiegelman disappears, leaving the protagonist, Q, to find her. But the main problem he runs into on his search is that the girl he’d known wasn't the “real” Margo, just one of the many different versions of herself she had created to fit in. Since then (because I've been looking for it), I've seen signs all over of other people “tailoring” themselves to fit in, or to appear a certain way. I've come to realize that no matter how well I know someone, there's always more to them that I don't know.
But I can try to understand others. I believe there is more than one way to look at things. When it comes to people, I could simply accept my first impression. That’s one way to view others, but it’s usually counterproductive. I could throw aside first impressions and give them a chance to present a more accurate depiction of who they are. Or, I could put myself in their shoes (metaphorically speaking, obviously) and try to see the situation how they might. While just about any of these comes with its own problems, they are all different ways I look at others, and if one method falls short, I can always try a different one. But I think my favorite methods of approaching problems are unusual ones, ones that allow me to envision events that couldn’t really happen (such as becoming someone else). One thing I haven’t yet mentioned about myself is that I’m an artist. I enjoy drawing and sometimes painting, and some of the pieces I’ve enjoyed the most all involve connecting unassociated subjects in interesting ways. A few years ago, I was drawing a pot of plants and I suddenly thought, “What if these plants were manmade?” What I came up with was a couple of plants that were basically lightbulbs on a stem, a literal “cat tail” plant, and a stem that split into two completely different flowers. More recently, I got it into my head that I really wanted to draw a retro fridge. The assignment, however, was to make two pieces representing something beautiful and something ugly, so I got to thinking about how I could incorporate a fridge into this project. In the end, I settled on using the fridge as a connection between the two pieces—in one image, a girl hides behind the fridge while her parents fight; in the other, the fridge has been opened, revealing a pot of bluebells growing within.
Similar to the way that people’s opinions about my piece might change when they learn that there’s a flower in the fridge, I believe that as people know more about something, their opinions can change, even swing completely in the opposite direction. When I was looking for colleges, I considered CU, and I applied there among others, but I wasn’t very interested in it. Some time later, I realized that I didn’t really know that much about CU, despite it being practically in my backyard, so I decided to attend one of their admitted student events to find out more. Long story short, I discovered that they have a major/minor program called TAM (Technology, Arts, and Media) which combines the three main fields that interest me. I took a tour of the building housing this program and my interest in attending CU increased tenfold. What had just been another school to choose from suddenly became maybe—possibly—probably the one I would attend, all because I learned more about it.
Along those lines, I recently heard about something called “emergent narrative,” which is a specific way of telling stories in which the story exists, but the reader/audience can choose which parts of it to pay attention to. If, for example, I came across a man kicking a dog in the street, I might think that he’s a horrible person, or that he hates dogs. But if I had encountered the scene a minute earlier and seen the dog bite him, I might think that the man is the victim. But what if I knew that the dog had bitten him because it smelled the suspicious drugs in his pocket? As I learn more and more of the story, my opinions change completely, swinging one way to the other and back again.
Once, I was at Walmart in the checkout line, and some guy in front of us was arguing with the employee at the counter. As the argument progressed, he got louder and louder until he finally snapped, tossing his groceries on the floor and stalking out of the store, shouting profanities at the employee the whole way. Taken at face value, most people might shake their heads in disbelief and mutter, “The people you find at Walmart. . .” But no one really knows why this might’ve happened. Maybe he was just a mean person. But maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was in a rush, trying to buy some medicine for a sick family member, and the employee just happened to be the one that finally made his frustration about the situation explode. Maybe he’s short on money, only by a few cents, though it was all he could scrape together. I believe in the benefit of the doubt, because I can’t really know everything behind an incident, and knowing more may change my perception.
I guess what this all adds up to is that I believe in the certainty of the unknown. No matter what I do, there will always be things I don’t, or can’t know. And rather than choosing to be put down by that, I use the idea as drive to keep my mind open to new ideas and possibilities.
Anonymous
It’s hard to be perfect all the time. Constantly. It’s hard to live up to everyone’s expectations. To be a superhero everyday in everything that you do. It’s hard to hold the weight of expectations on your shoulders. To have to fulfill each and every one of these expectations to their fullest.
Greatness is a laudable goal, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think that our society emphasizes greatness. I think our society emphasizes perfection. To the point where kids quit activities when they know they won’t be the absolute best. To the point where elementary schoolers are categorized into talented and regular. I have seen countless peers crack under the weight of societal expectations. I have seen friends hold sadness for years because they weren’t one of those identified as special, as talented, as extraordinary, when they were 5 years old. I have seen students grow to hate math because, no matter how hard they worked, they couldn’t get above a C. And in our society, a C isn’t perfection.
People who aren’t necessarily seen as perfect are talented at so many things. They have passions, hobbies, talent in areas that can’t always be seen. The categorical nature of society tells people that their unique talents aren’t special. Just because they aren’t “perfect” in the right areas. My passion for history may only get me to the position of a history teacher. My passion for music may only get me to waitressing. Because there are so few chances for perfection, so few opportunities for me to become the next Sutton Foster, I shouldn’t try. The emphasis on perfection leads to a lack of risk taking. And people buy into these social norms. I buy into these norms. I am scared to try. I am scared to fail. I am scared to be anything short of perfect.
It has taken me the past few years (and still currently, to be honest) to realize that perfection isn’t possible. Perfection isn’t what we should be striving for. Or at least society's version of perfection. I think that each and every person has their own perfect. Their own A+. Their own amazing qualities that they can bring to the world. I think that if we are to allow people to thrive, and allow our society to grow, we need to stop emphasizing one version of perfect. Because there are many. We need to stop striving for society’s perfect, and start accepting other people’s own perfects. Start reaching for our own perfect. My perfect. The hardest I can work. The perfect lower score I get on a test because I didn’t get enough sleep. The perfect slowest swimmer, who brings energy and a smile. The perfect performer, who has incredible perseverance throughout times of not getting a sought-after role. Once we shift the emphasis, each person’s perfect will be allowed to shine through. We can stop buying into social norms. We can stop preventing ourselves from trying new things due to fear of failure. We can reach our own individual perfect. And be kinder, happier, and more open to others along the way. This I believe.
Liza Schill
In fourth grade my teacher assigned a creative writing project. We could write poetry or memoirs or short stories. I chose to write a short story. I do not remember what I wrote about, but I do remember how much fun it was. I have been writing ever since. Never working on a single story at a time, I would jump from one to the other, never really knowing what would happen next in the plot. As I got more and more practice in writing fiction, I realized that I would never finish a story that I did not plan out. I had started a story that I felt very strongly about. I had never wanted to finish a story so badly. I opened a blank document and started by typing a summary of the beginning, the part that I had already written. I continued writing short summaries about every major event that I wanted to happen. Slowly, I made progress on this, I had put writing the story on hold. If I would get writer’s block, I would work on character and world development. When I finally did finish the story line, I started writing the story again.
I finally finished the first draft of the story and once again, I opened a blank document and wrote down everything I wanted to add in the second draft. I believe that creativity is the spice of life. Without my writing I would have no creative outlet, no way to express myself, and no way to let out my emotions. Some days you just really want to kill off a character. After reading through the first draft, I am not ashamed of what I have written, but I do want to improve it. The beginning was written a long time ago and reflects how much I have learned since.
Natalie Reck Books—fairytale, fantasy, mystery, suspense—have always enthralled me. I am drawn in by the nicely painted spines, and the monsters and magic lurking on the page flaps or back covers. But I have always stayed for one thing: the people. Not for the characters, but for the humans within them. I stay for the unbreakable and breakable bond of brothers, sisters, lovers, and enemies because, while sometimes exaggerated for the sake of entertainment, it is always born from real human experience and wishes.
In physics, there is a concept called Brownian motion where a particle is constantly undergoing small, random fluctuations from collisions with fast-moving atoms or molecules. The particle is pushed and changed by every atom or molecule that it interacts with, just as people are influenced by every human interaction we experience. Each person we meet hits us just enough to push us; sometimes the hit is harder than a gentle shove, sometimes we don’t even know it changed us. But we move because of human interaction. We cannot grow as people without the power of human dependence, whether that dependence be a hard earned bond between two people or the simple, human necessity to be near one another.
I don’t believe in magic, in dragons and witches and fairies. I believe in the sciences because they govern the physical, magnetic, electric world; science explains the ticks and clicks of Earth. But most of all, I believe in the magic of human interaction. Unlike with the hard world, science cannot positively explain human consciousness beyond that it is electricity in our brains. Human nature is one of the most unexplained phenomena of nature, and yet it plays a role in every aspect of our world. So, I believe in the collision of people, ideas, cultures, and human experience to move the world: our world, our human society, not the natural world of Earth.
And if we are not pushed, we cannot grow. And if we cannot grow, we do not change. This I believe is an immutable truth, but then again the world does not turn without change, and perhaps human power is great enough to change even this.
Anonymous
I believe that learning is important. I believe that an education is important. But I also believe that though Fairview gives kids an education, it creates a horrible environment of competition where grades matter more than learning. From the late night panic attacks to the stress, kids at Fairview High School are under too much pressure to succeed. I believe that even though people sometimes do need to be pushed to do well the amount that the IB and AP programs push kids is doing more harm than good. The workload given to kids is unreasonable, yet seen as normal for every individual class. I believe that even though there needs to be change, none will happen. The Ivy Leagues are too appealing, and whether it is Fairview or another school, parents will find a place that will push their kids beyond a reasonable amount. There is no easy solution to this problem, but I think it is still worth trying to find one. And I believe that if both teachers and students work together, there is a way to fix this problem in a way that everyone can benefit.
Anonymous
I believe that the most growth occurs when a person fails. Starting as a freshman at Fairview High School, I felt that there was no way failure was possible for a student like me. I was the top of my middle school, and this would continue as I entered high school as well as the rest of my life. I started in a very difficult math class that I was not prepared for, slacked off in class, didn’t study or do the homework, and failed my first test. I couldn’t believe that this could happen to me—I was invincible and I was smart and I let myself believe that the only reason I failed was because the teacher didn’t prepare me and I made small mistakes but understood the content. I started to lose the friends I was close to in middle school soon after. They were changing, but I was still the same. I blamed them for being bad friends, and leaving me behind. I thought I would make the musical because I was the lead in all the other ones I was in, but I didn’t. I thought I would be a freshman on varsity soccer, but I didn’t make that team either. I wasn’t sure what was happening, because for the first time in my life I was a failure.
I refused to accept the fact that the reason for failure was me, and continued to blame the rest of the world for my problems instead of owning them for myself. I had a negative attitude and was pessimistic and unhappy, but continued to act the same way I always had. Throughout the year I was progressing into a spiral of failure, and felt that I was destined to be a failure in high school and for the rest of my life.
The summer after my freshman year, my soccer team left me behind, and I was left with nothing. I was angry that I had not been included in the new transition, and I needed to scramble for a new team. My anger turned into new motivation, and I worked hard to earn a spot on a different team, one that was a higher level and more commitment. The euphoria I felt after I made that team changed my life. I succeeded, and because of the many failures in the past I was determined to achieve my goal. I learned from this point that if I wanted to succeed, I needed to work hard. I worked hard in my classes, I worked hard at my relationships, I worked hard at soccer, and I worked hard at everything I wanted to get. I didn’t always meet my goals, but with my hard work I was always improving. I still had many failures throughout high school, but my achievement outweighs them.
If I had never accepted failure as my own responsibility, I would never have become the person I am today. I am confident in my skills in school, in soccer, in music, and with my friends and family, and I am ready to move on to college and continue to grow. I accept that next year I will have to adjust, change, and I will fail again, but I will realize my improvements and keep striving for the finish. This, I believe.
Molly Aber Every day, for the past twelve years, I have woken up and gone to school. Some days have been more interesting, more fun, or more challenging than others. But, regardless, I have the constant opportunity to learn something new. The opportunity to receive. Living in Boulder, I have the opportunity to attend one of the best public school systems in the country; this is a privilege that I have become increasingly aware of, especially throughout the past four years. I have the ability to learn from some of the most qualified, passionate, and incredibly talented teachers in the country. I believe that this is an opportunity everybody in the world should have, not a lucky few. In a few short days, I, along with several hundred of my classmates, will walk across a stage and receive our high school diplomas. There are 35 million other women in the world who do not have the opportunity or ability to obtain education, due to government, familial, or cultural restrictions. I believe that a basic education is a human right, and not a privilege for some elite few. I believe that it is our obligation as humans to work towards providing opportunities for everyone to receive educational opportunities. As I approach the next chapter of my education, it has become glaringly clear how fortunate I am to have been given every educational opportunity I have had. And, unfortunately, there is still a long ways to go until this is a global right and not an elite privilege. Education and knowledge is a person’s greatest asset in the world, and to be stripped of the opportunity to develop such knowledge is far too common in modern day society. I believe that it is my responsibility to help create the necessary change to bring education to more people. As an ally, advocate, and human I believe that I am responsible, and hope that I can engage in meaningful interactions that create an environment ripe for change. Owning this responsibility, and acting on it with humility, allows me to help create meaningful change in my community, state, and world.
Anonymous I Believe in Passion I believe this life shouldn’t be about building your resume and looking pretty on paper. At Fairview we spend so much time joining every club, taking a full schedule of advanced classes, and putting all our freetime into meaningless extracurriculars, but at the end of the day it doesn’t mean anything. Our resume builders might look nice on a freshly printed paper, but the stress it puts you under is not. As an involved Fairview student I can say that I have broken down multiple times because I was overwhelmed with the number of things I committed myself to doing. While I was making a beautiful college application, I was making myself a mess. All the resume builders did not build me as a person, which is a little ironic because colleges look at resumes to see who you are in your community. It’s so much more important to dedicate yourself to your passions instead of dedicating yourself to appearing as a well rounded person on paper, even though you drag through each activity due to physical and mental exhaustion. If you love to do something, go after it. If something doesn’t interest you, then don’t do it. Follow what starts a fire in your soul because that’s what makes you grow and what makes life positive. Share what lights your fire with everyone and become obsessed, so that your whole life is surrounded by genuine interest. Next time someone tells you to join a club, or do this volunteer event because it will help you get into college, and the thought of attending makes you want to fade, ignore it. I promise you will get into college, and you will get to a beautiful, amazing future, if you dive deep into your interests. The world is too focused on tangible ideas that can be placed on paper, when we all should be focused on discovering the intangible curiosities this world holds. Trust what lights your fire. I believe the world is too spectacular to only discover yourself through other people’s expectations, and you should have faith in your passions.
Bryce Nichols
I believe that there are no true adults in this world. This summer I have spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be an adult. Legally I became one a few months ago, but psychologically, physiologically and socially there is no clear cut transition for our local culture. Lots of other societies have ceremonies and rites of passage to mark their transition to adulthood, but all we have is the passing of the age of 18. Some people consider graduating high school to be sufficient, others believe a college degree signifies the transformation. The conclusion that I have come to is that there are no true adults. At least by my childhood definition of the word. Most people finish their education, they eventually find a passion, and they generally never stop changing until the day they die. Yes many people are much more mature at the age of 25 then they were at 15. But what about at 35? 45? 55? There is never a point that people reach where they feel comfortable saying that nothing has changed. People's bodies don't stop changing, they don't stop learning, and they certainly don't stop having childish thoughts. I came to realize that many people still hold their dreams from their youth well into their old age. Of course, their desires change as they age, but most times they still value things similarly to when they were adolescents. I have learned that to satisfy my question of "when is someone truly an adult?", I must either adjust my personal definition of the word, or accept that nobody can really live up to be what my 8-year-old self believed an adult to be. There is just no way to really know when you've crossed the threshold.
Justin Li
There is only so much you can do yourself as an individual. Even if you are the smartest, strongest human being to ever exist in this universe, your abilities are limited. This is just how our bleak reality is. We are incapable of great pursuits by ourselves, but something spectacular when we combine our individual potentials. Take for instance, Albert Einstein, one of the greatest theoretical physicists to ever exist, the father of modern physics, the first to propose the general theory of relativity, he was not too great to work along the side of other great intellectuals. Some of the largest advancements in science were made during World War II through the Manhattan Project, a collaborative research effort among some of the smartest scientists of the time. What they uncovered about atomic interactions went way beyond the bomb, as it has greatly influenced medicine and biology. While we may not all be super geniuses that will make important breakthroughs by joining forces, it’s important that we surround ourselves with unique individuals. Learning from other people’s experiences, thoughts, and wisdom is the best way to grow and expand our capabilities.
I strongly believe in mentorship. The mentors in my life have provided guidance when I’ve felt lost, they’ve provided insight to help me solve problems, they’ve kept me focused when I start to veer from my ambitions, and most importantly, they provide me motivation needed to keep myself driven. Mentorship is an amazing phenomenon because it is an opportunity to come across new experiences and perspectives. I didn’t recognize just how important mentorship is until a couple months into my sophomore year of high school. It was hard for me to seek guidance from other people. I come from a family of self-reliant, assertive, independent individuals. As immigrants, both my mother and father worked relentlessly, trying to provide a better future for themselves, but more importantly, a better future for me. They always taught me that if I ever wanted something, I would have to get it by myself. I could not rely on others to do it for me. The only way to succeed was for me to go after what I want by myself. While I don’t disagree with what my parents have taught me, some of my experiences have demonstrated otherwise. There’s a weird obsession with “the self’ in our society. Even as little kids, one of the most common compliments we received was “You did it all by yourself.” Independence is an important quality to possess, but it shouldn’t define you. Seeking help is ok because it’s apart of the process of learning. Without teachers, there are no lessons, and without lessons, it becomes harder to progress.