Why Guitar Is Important To Me

I like doing a lot of things but four things stand out to me the most as defining factors of my personality. I have always wanted to help people through service. Service is important because it allows me to connect with others on a personal level as I help them. Hiking is also important to me because I can go out in the wilderness and hike for five to ten miles without seeing any man made structures. This allows me to connect with nature and deepen my understanding of natural settings. Guitar is a fun activity to do inside of school and outside. I participate in Jazz band in school and I have really enjoyed it for the seven years I have been playing. Academics is probably the most challenging item on the list but I enjoy getting to a conclusion that makes sense. Service, hiking, guitar, and academics are the core of who I am.

Service is a huge part of my life. In recent years I have been able to go to Oklahoma for one week, where I lived in community helping the Cherokee nation. I worked on improving someone’s school, learning the history of a culture, and connecting in other ways like playing stickball. Stickball is like lacrosse but it is played with two smaller sticks. I have also participated in Cradles to Crayons. This project is a little closer to home the Oklahoma but just as rewarding. At Cradles to Crayons I

worked to build a basket full of toys clothes and other good things that a child would want for children who didn't have enough money to get christmas gifts. I have worked in soup kitchens such as The Cor Unum. In the past I have gone with my Abuelos to The Cor Unum in order to help others who don't have enough money to buy food. Service has helped me see a whole new perspective on the world.

Hiking is a great way to connect with nature. I have been doing the Junior Ranger program since I was six years old. The Junior Ranger program takes place in every national park. The park hands out booklets to all of the kids. It encourages people to explore nature at these natural wonders of the United States. At Yosemite I climbed Half Dome with my dad. I was very tired because the trail was sixteen miles but I had to persevere through the struggle and at the end it was worth it. At the end of the hike I had to climb up the curved side of the dome on a cable. The only thing attaching me to the rock was a cable and a harness. When we reached the top there was a lazy gopher lounging in the sun watching people with food almost as if he expected someone to feed him. A goal I have for myself is is to hike all forty eight 4000 footers. This has been a goal shared with my dad, a friend, and his dad. Hiking is a fun thing to do in my free time.

Guitar Is a passion of mine inside and out of school.

I have been taking lessons for seven years. I have had the same teacher for all seven years. I learned to read notes before words making it really easy to read music as a small kid. This past year I have started playing for the school’s Jazz band. The Jazz band plays uncommon jazz tunes and for Yule Fest we are playing a Christmas medley. Yule Fest is a day when every grade performs something for the whole school. Jazz band has helped me develop improvisation and sight reading skills while playing fast paced Jazz music. Guitar has helped me with many things involving jazz and classical rock

music.

Academics for me happen in and out of school and continue way past the bounds of what I am learning in class. I started my academic career at The Heath School. I was there for seven years participating in chess club, fencing, cross country, track and field, math league, and many other things. During my time at heath I would go to The Russian School of math, an advanced extracurricular math program. I was in the advanced math class for the majority of my time there. I also competed in the Math kangaroo competition, a math test given by Russian math. In sixth grade I applied to The Park School because I wanted more of a challenge in my academic life. I have been there for two years and I have benefited greatly from it and I enjoy the small class size which gives me more opportunity to learn with less people to distract me and more time to challenge myself. I have also enjoyed the one to one program with chromebooks. This program is when the school hands out chromebooks to all of the upper division, making it easier to communicate with teachers about homework assignments or reports. Another extracurricular I have done in the past is The Milton Academy Saturday Course. I have done it for four years and taken a total of twelve courses such as Science of Sports, Fall 2015, Trial Court, Fall 2015, Ocean Commotion – Marine Biology, Fall 2014, Woodworking, Fall 2014, Science Magic, Fall 2014, Survivor Brain Games – Outwit, Outplay & Outthink, Fall 2014, Bloodier and Guttier- Anatomy and Dissection, Fall 2013, In Search of Ancient Mysteries, Fall 2013, Ultimate Engineering, Fall 2012, As “Eye” See it – Anatomy and Physiology of the Eye, Fall 2012, Blood and Guts - Anatomy and Dissection, Spring 2012, and Create Your Own Computer Game, Spring 2012. These twelve electives have broadened my understanding of many topics and deepened my perspective on others. I have always liked academics and I hope that in the future I will be able to do other interesting things.