About Me
It is easy to write a dramatic introduction to an autobiography. Something like “Four-score and seven years ago” or “I started with a small loan of a million dollars,” but my life isn’t something that will be remembered like those stories. Mine isn’t a story that people will be telling for generations to come, and I am okay with that. I come from a middle class, American family in the township of Kearns, Utah. I was raised knowing that education is important and that every person decides their own destiny, to a point. I knew it, but that doesn’t mean I lived by that knowledge. When I was little I didn’t care much for school, it was much too easy for me and I spent my days with my nose in a book or running up and down a basketball court with the boys in my class. I was called a nerd, and I was mostly okay with that. Like most “nerds” I was bullied in elementary school and spent most of Jr. High struggling to accept that I had a problem that would later be diagnosed as depression. Like I said, nothing super memorable.
If we’re being completely honest, I didn’t want to come to AMES. I had recently made good friends in junior high, I found a sport that I wanted to play through high school, and I was comfortable where I was. But when I was accepted to AMES, my older sister was currently a student here and my parents thought I had a lot of potential in a school like this one. So off I went, dragging my feet into a new school that I didn’t want to go to, with a bunch of people I didn’t know. Little did I know that going to AMES was going to be one of the greatest things I have done. I have gotten to work on a newspaper staff, have an internship in the field I plan to work in after college, and most importantly meet my two best friends.
Four years seems like an eternity when you are freshmen, but now that I am a senior it seems like just yesterday I was a nervous wreck on my way to freshmen house. Freshmen year I kept to myself. I went to my classes, answered questions and did my assignments. At lunch I stuck with my sister and met her friends but didn't really get close with anyone in my grade. Sophomore year I was on my own, my sister had graduated and so had all of her friends and so I was left to make new friends on my own. Which was good, I met Mia and Kaitlyn and learned that grades (while important) aren't the only thing that matter in this world. (Yes, it took until my sophomore year of high school to learn that). Junior year I made a ton of mistakes outside of the classroom. I wouldn't say that I regret every choice I made that year but there were some epic mess-ups. Friendships were broken, my depressions got worse, and I found myself in a hole that I couldn't seem to pull myself out of. Classes went well, and I started to figure out how much the idea of going to college meant to me. The following summer I spent a good chunk of the summer doing my internship at The Children's Center and working with those little kids who needed a friend brought me out of that dark place. Everyday I woke up super excited to be able to go see and work with my little friends and with the teams of specialists (teachers and psychologists). While on a camping trip that summer I realized that everything that had happened Junior Year had actually taken a huge weight off my shoulders, and I found it easier to manage my depression and focus on finishing high school and making it to and through college.
And now my senior year is basically over. Mia and Kaitlyn are still my best friends, and I have learned so much about myself in four years. This year I have applied to and been accepted to Snow College and Utah State University. Fall 2016 will be my first semester at Snow College and the start of my journey to a degree in Psychology (medical school might be included in that) and a career in either Clinical Counseling or Psychiatric Counseling. This year has arguably been the best year of my pre-college career but it hasn't been all sunshine and daisies, and that is what has made it so great.
I don't know where I am going to end up in life, I have goals, but I am also willing to let life take its course. My life hasn't and most likely won't be written about in a book or have a movie made about it, and that's okay because I am perfectly content with living life without extreme recognition. I don't want a fortune and I don't want fame, and that's because I want something better out of life. When I am old and can talk about vhs tapes like a museum, I want to be able to look back and say "I lived a good life, and I am happy."
If we’re being completely honest, I didn’t want to come to AMES. I had recently made good friends in junior high, I found a sport that I wanted to play through high school, and I was comfortable where I was. But when I was accepted to AMES, my older sister was currently a student here and my parents thought I had a lot of potential in a school like this one. So off I went, dragging my feet into a new school that I didn’t want to go to, with a bunch of people I didn’t know. Little did I know that going to AMES was going to be one of the greatest things I have done. I have gotten to work on a newspaper staff, have an internship in the field I plan to work in after college, and most importantly meet my two best friends.
Four years seems like an eternity when you are freshmen, but now that I am a senior it seems like just yesterday I was a nervous wreck on my way to freshmen house. Freshmen year I kept to myself. I went to my classes, answered questions and did my assignments. At lunch I stuck with my sister and met her friends but didn't really get close with anyone in my grade. Sophomore year I was on my own, my sister had graduated and so had all of her friends and so I was left to make new friends on my own. Which was good, I met Mia and Kaitlyn and learned that grades (while important) aren't the only thing that matter in this world. (Yes, it took until my sophomore year of high school to learn that). Junior year I made a ton of mistakes outside of the classroom. I wouldn't say that I regret every choice I made that year but there were some epic mess-ups. Friendships were broken, my depressions got worse, and I found myself in a hole that I couldn't seem to pull myself out of. Classes went well, and I started to figure out how much the idea of going to college meant to me. The following summer I spent a good chunk of the summer doing my internship at The Children's Center and working with those little kids who needed a friend brought me out of that dark place. Everyday I woke up super excited to be able to go see and work with my little friends and with the teams of specialists (teachers and psychologists). While on a camping trip that summer I realized that everything that had happened Junior Year had actually taken a huge weight off my shoulders, and I found it easier to manage my depression and focus on finishing high school and making it to and through college.
And now my senior year is basically over. Mia and Kaitlyn are still my best friends, and I have learned so much about myself in four years. This year I have applied to and been accepted to Snow College and Utah State University. Fall 2016 will be my first semester at Snow College and the start of my journey to a degree in Psychology (medical school might be included in that) and a career in either Clinical Counseling or Psychiatric Counseling. This year has arguably been the best year of my pre-college career but it hasn't been all sunshine and daisies, and that is what has made it so great.
I don't know where I am going to end up in life, I have goals, but I am also willing to let life take its course. My life hasn't and most likely won't be written about in a book or have a movie made about it, and that's okay because I am perfectly content with living life without extreme recognition. I don't want a fortune and I don't want fame, and that's because I want something better out of life. When I am old and can talk about vhs tapes like a museum, I want to be able to look back and say "I lived a good life, and I am happy."
Quote Reflection |
"If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission." -Unknown
In my opinion one of the biggest problems in our society is our constant need for approval. If you want to be socially accepted you can't "think outside the box." We have become a society that wants to conform to the idea of normal. You have to look a certain way, like certain things, and be a certain person and that is detrimental. "If you want to achieve greatness" we have to be unique individuals who don't need societal permission to be themselves, we have to "stop asking for permission." The biggest reason I chose this quote is because it is a constant reminder that I choose where I end up in life and I don't need permission to be myself. |
AMES Memory |
One of my favorite books of all time (Paper Towns by John Green) starts with the narrator and main character saying “The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle.” How true is that? Everyone gets at least one moment to make something extraordinary out of their lives. And the way I see it, my biggest miracle so far has been attending AMES. It is a school that pushes you to make the most of your life, and as cliché as it is, it’s because of my time at AMES I have learned more about not only who I am as an individual, but also who I have the potential to become.
But of all the things that have happened to me the last four years, the one I will remember the most is meeting and getting closer with my two best friends, Mia and Kaitlyn. The three of us have been on so many crazy adventures together that it would be impossible to tell them all to you right now, but one that I think best encompasses who we are as a group of friends is the last AMES Dance (January 29, 2016). All three of us had requested a song and as the night was progressing along we began to lose hope that our songs would be played. And then it happened. Mr. Ramsey's student teacher (whose name I don't remember) announced that the next song would be a tribute to "a great man who left us too soon." Before he even finished his sentence Kaitlyn was crying and then As the World Falls by David Bowie started playing. Kaitlyn was crying so hard that Mia and I just wrapped her in a hug (me hoping that she wasn't going to go hysterical on us). When Kaitlyn started swaying with Mia like she wanted to dance with her I backed off the dance floor and pulled out my iPod to capture this moment. It was a struggle to hold the iPod still because I was laughing at the fact that Mia was trying to keep Kaitlyn at arms length because she (Kaitlyn) had begun to scream inhumanly while laughing and crying. From my spot on the side of the room I head Mia yell "Oh, oh God!" and then more sobbing from Kaitlyn as the song ended led to Mia yelling, "What the actual hell Kaitlyn?!" Then my moment came. I heard the words "Tonight we are victorious. Champagne pouring over us." and I knew that Panic! at the Disco's Victorious was playing and I felt my heart and soul leap with joy because my favorite band was playing. I flew out on to the dance floor and started "violently flailing" and singing every word to the song. Shortly there after Mia and Kaitlyn joined me in dancing like maniacs, they laughed while I sang and no one would dance around us due to fear of being smacked or kicked by our flailing limbs. I'm sure we were quite the sight. And because we were apparently pretty lucky that night, the next song was Fantastic Baby by the Kpop band Big Bang, which was also known as the song that Mia had requested. We began to head-bang and yell the words (Mia in perfect Korean, and Kaitlyn and I were yelling fragmented lyrics that just so happened to be in English). By the end of the night we were all tired and having a great time. Its moments like these that I will always remember, moments with my friends that made me laugh and made me smile, but most importantly moments that made me feel good about my present life. That is why this is the memory that I have chosen to share with you. -Kati |