​Ashton Paulus

 

Senior Reflective Essay

        This essay is going to be about me as a person physically, mentally, and educationally. I couldn't come up with anything creative and I’d rather be plain and blunt than cheesy and cliché anyways. Personal qualities of mine that I value most are my honesty, my respect towards others, and my ability to make people laugh. I consider myself to be an honest person, I tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Honesty is important in life, because being honest builds trust. Trust brings new opportunities, more intimacy in relationships and a better reputation. I believe that respect is the most important quality a person can have. Respect for not just your elders, but for everyone and everything. One’s respect shows their maturity, their attitude and their character. And my ability to make people laugh isn’t as important of a quality as honesty or respect. I just love making people laugh because it makes me laugh and feel good.

         My new basics are typical of your average ACLC senior. I can speak English and Spanish perfectly fine. I can read, interpret, and appreciate written information in most literature. I can communicate my thoughts, ideas, information, and messages clearly in writing in a form that is grammatically correct. I know the basic math needed for everyday life. I receive, attend to, and interpret to all verbal messages and other forms of communication perfectly. I can speak calmly and clearly, whether it is to one of my facilitators or in front of an entire class. I know how our local, state, and national government systems work. I know how to navigate a map. I know my rights. I have healthy eating and exercising habits. And lastly I can appreciate beautiful art whether it is movies, music, games, or photography.

          My thinking and reasoning skills are also pretty similar to those of my senior classmates. I know how to learn things effectively. I can easily use my imagination freely and plan for the future at the same time. I pride myself on my decision making. Playing competitive video games is all about making smart decisions that give you the most benefit with as little risk as possible. I’m pretty good at problem solving as well. It kind of falls into the same category as decision making. You assess a problem, devise a strategy to fix that problem, and then execute.

           My interpersonal abilities are also pretty top notch. I can cooperate and accomplish goals in a group setting easily. Whether it is in small group competitions or in the classroom, we get the job done. I would like to think of myself as a pretty good teacher. I teach an ultimate frisbee class every Friday during 5th period. I’m also an administrator on a video game server. My job as an admin is to help new players learn the ropes of the games we play and our community as a whole. I don’t jump at the opportunity to be in a leadership position, but when I am needed to I can perform well. I’ll usually run ultimate Frisbee practices when other captains aren’t there. I was also a counselor at Hannah Camp last year. I was in charge of several kids and their safety. Negotiating is a synch. I help with negotiations all the time when I’m administrating on the server I work on.

            I use technology every day, whether it’s for school or for recreation. When we’re talking about school and technology I mainly use the computers in the center to write essays, do online assignments for my classes, and communicating with my senior class on social media. It is such an unappreciated part of ACLC, the ability to get on a computer at any time you wish. I attended Alameda High School for the first two years of my high school career. At Alameda High you could only go on the computer before and after school, during lunch, or if your class had a special activity that required you to use the computers. I barely used the computers at Alameda High because of these conditions.