Valencia+Harper

__Rambling Auto Biography:__ __What I do outside of school__  Dancing, a major part of my life, takes up so much of my time. When I’m not sleeping or drawing, I’m at my dance studio. I have danced for about 12yrs, but I’ve only been competing for about 5. To me dance is an expression that grabs my attention for long periods of time. I guess it’s kind of like writing because when you dance, all eyes are on you. You tend to feel vulnerable and kind of self-conscience, but what I’ve learned is that you’re never alone. There is always someone, standing right behind you, to support you. What a lot of people don't really know about me is that I’m an amateur graffiti artist. I've spent most of my summer drawing/ writing messages that could somewhat make a difference. I’ve never really thought about why I do it but more of what I can do with it. Obviously graffiti, the art of words, is cool to do but I’ve realized it can’t take me to where I want to go, (Which at this point is hard to say because I’m only 15). * it's incomplete :)


 * N.. Wyth's Blind Pew from Treasure Island ||
 * N.. Wyth's Blind Pew from Treasure Island ||

Down the abandoned road, pew, a blind man, desperately stumbles. Groaning, he pleads for someone to help while he intensely clings on for dear life, but nobody cam. With his clothes disintegrating bit by bit, he sensed that the end was near. Suddenly, he began to collapse, hitting the ground with intense severity. Gasping for air, he whispered his one last regret, “I don’t regret losing the war, but I do regret fighting a battle that wasn’t meant to happen.”

What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has influenced your thinking and in what way?

Summer break, a time of pure relaxation, tends to be the highlight of everyone’s year, except mine. Every year it’s the same thing, I’m handed a list of books, some I’ve probably never even heard of, and is asked to read it and give some kind of pointless explanation on what I thought about it. Sometimes I wait until the very last week of summer to read it, others I finish by the middle of the summer but this year seemed different. This year I was given Sophie’s World and it changed my life.

Sophie’s World, a fictional story about philosophy, describes how philosophy questions, such as “who are you?” baffles and pushes Sophie Amundsen, the main character, to think outside of what is told to her. In the beginning she received two little letters that contained two very basic questions that require very complex answers. She began to have thoughts that made her question everything that she knows. Thus, begins the story of how young Sophie Amundsen changed the way she saw the world.

Philosophy, the study of ideas, is a baffling topic and challenges me to think above and beyond what is expected. Sophie’s world includes multiple ideas from famous philosophers that have opened my eyes to things I’ve never even thought of before, whether it was about religion, science nature or even man itself. "Where does the world come from?” is a common question that science has yet to tell us. You see, they have theories but no definite answer. In Sophie’s World it suggests that something must have come from nothing, which led me to question everything I’ve ever read in any science book. For years I felt like I was spoon fed someone else’s ideas. I’ve always had some opinion on certain theories but never thought to question it. What Sophie’s World has taught me is to never accept one idea.

When I was about five, I believed that you could do anything you put your mind to, now that’s not the case. I thought that magic truly existed and I could make anything I wanted appear right before my eyes. Nowadays, I believe that everything has a purpose and it’s silly to believe in something that’ll probably never happen. After reading just the first chapter of Sophie’s World, I realized that having the feeling “that anything is possible” is truly a good quality have.

SAT prompt essay:

Memories are with you for life but just the thought of repressing it is utterly impossible. Sure, some people can block it from their minds but it’s always going to be there. To achieve success, you must acknowledge what you have done and what it took to get there. To forget your past is somewhat the biggest regret anyone can make. I mean history is bound to repeat itself.

On the other hand, relinquishing problems and grudges actually helps the mind heal itself. In the bible it is said that “you must forgive others before you can forgive yourself.” This releases any tension and resentment that may lie in your heart and that is what is crucial to achieving your goal.

To me, forgetting about your past can be either good or bad, depending on certain circumstances. If it’s repressing a memory that is stopping you from doing what you need to succeed, then forget it. If it’s a memory that you truly cherish then why forget it? All you’re doing is hurting yourself emotionally. Sure, it can help you to the top but is it really worth it? Is it worth losing something precious or something that made you who you are? Basically what I’m saying is that if you need to forget what you went through to succeed then you’re not really achieving anything.

SAT essay: To act quickly is one thing but to expect quick response is a whole other story. The mind is like a bomb, anything can set your mind off to wonder but not every mind is the same. Some would rather wait and think out a response, others would say what comes to their mind first. The question is are you willing to wait patiently for a well thought out answer or do you want a simple or typical answer.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">If you ask me, I would rather wait. This is because I prefer intellectual answers that have some meaning in life. For example, Batman, the caped-crusader, plans out every move he makes. This helps him suspect what’s going to happen, which is why he’s never lost a fight. With that point made, if he would have acted quickly, then he surely would have died.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">My mom has always told me, “Good things come to those who wait.” So to put it bluntly, if I had to choose between a quick and cheap response and a deep and satisfying answer, then I would definitely choose the one that took the most thought.