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Hills 2

Alyson Hills
Mrs. Wickware
CAA Plus 2
May 17, 2016

Safe

Sometimes I'm the mess. Sometimes I'm the broom. On the hardest days, I have
to be both Rudy Francisco. An important lesson I have mastered understanding in my
last four years of life. The journey to becoming who I am has been full of ups and downs
and has been complicated at the very least but much of my artistic and academic growth
along with my growth as an agent of change can be accredited to the Clayton Arts
Academy. Artistically my peers and I experienced a whole array of both seemingly
negative attitudes, and positive ones during our time in the CAA. This has allowed me to
grow in a diverse and nurturing, yet competitive community, preparing me for an
ambition work environment. Theater has also shaped my public speaking skills, my
writing skills, and has broadened my knowledge of performance art possibilities. This
opened the doors to my favorite art media; poetry. Academically the Academy has
challenged my intellectual development in many beneficial ways. From my years in the
Arts Academy I have progressed in my critical thinking skills, writing, reading, and
speaking skills as well. The Academy has been responsible for the majority of my
educational growth in high school and I am honored to have been taught by such

wonderful teachers and brilliant minds. My growth as an agent of change is a rather new
development but none the least profoundly important to my growth in The Academy, and
in life. Through my Social Justice course in the CAA I have learned the importance of not
only being aware of the social infringements occurring around the world, but to do the
best you can to help those who suffer from their effects. Activism does not come
naturally to me as it may to some, but rather I am moved by experiences of my own or
those of my loved ones, and this ignites the metaphorical flame that has led me to become
the activist I proudly call myself today.
As an Arts Academy drama student from the beginning of high school I entered an
environment with those who are passionate about theater like me. While this allowed for
beautiful friendships to blossom, it also led to a competitive classroom environment; as
we were competing for many of the same roles. From this I learned to accept defeat when
not casted for the part of my choice, as Im sure so did many of my peers. Together we
learned the art of good sportsmanship. As a result, I now know what it takes to succeed in
a competitive atmosphere and I feel this will benefit me in my future endeavors.
I learned a lot about my artistic preferences from The Academy. I was surrounded
by other artistically inclined individuals and was exposed to many different art forms,
artists, and techniques. This ultimately has resulted in my current love of spoken word.
Luckily enough for me, my spring all academy project was to compete in a poetry slam
alongside and against my peers. We were divided into 12 groups of 10 wherein two
seniors led the group. I was opportunistically the senior in this project. We were required
to write 5 original poems; 3 about a topic from a list provided to us, and 2 free writes
completely of our own making. We participated in a seeding tournament and performed

against one another for the finale. The objective of the all academy projects in my
opinion is to provide students with a forum to connect with one another. Not all students
go into all academy projects knowing each other well or at all, and these projects allow
for students from both upper core, and lower core to interact more frequently than they
might of. Our group was able to meet this goal and became very close very quickly. Our
poetry was a direct reflection of the relationships we were building with each other, and
the commitment we shared to the art.
However, I slowly learned that this project was not going to be a walk in the park.
We met all of our goals but I definitely learned the importance of time management.
Three weeks is a short amount of time, but if used effectively and efficiently, it does go a
long way. My group and I also learned that following directions is key in completing a
project successfully. You can not succeed if you do not follow the directions provided.
This is an important concept to understand before I enter real life after high school
because it can be applied to most adult things. For example, if you do not read road signs
and follow the directions you will consequentially get a ticket. It is the way of the world,
following rules. From these academy projects I also developed my leadership skills.
These projects are only possible because the seniors lead the way and this year was what
I had been waiting for. Academy projects opened doors to friendships previously
overlooked. My public speaking skills, writing skills and educational growth pertaining
to art is mostly a result of the people I surrounded myself with. This includes teachers.
Had I not been in The Arts Academy I would never have encountered nearly as many
public speaking opportunities and would not have discovered my passions. I would never
have encountered having to write and perform slam poetry on such a level as we had to,

or even having to write a script for a scene. I developed by myself, yes, but without the
extensive knowledge and inspiration that my peers and teachers had provided me with, I
would not have been able to choose who I want to be. I would not admire certain bands if
not played in the car ride home from Ohlone, or backstage during a show. The friendships
that I have made in The Academy have developed my creative being more than I realized
before, and for that I am thankful. After all, you are who you hang with, and I think I
picked a good few.
Through good times and bad, through the thick and the thin, there was always an
audience waiting to sympathize and contribute advice while I was developing during high
school, and this is in part a result of the people I met during academy projects. The long
study dates, late nights working on a project, and the hard tests scaring us from sleep
during the night brought us together, although academically we may have all been
traveling a different path.
During high school I was given little opportunity to participate in classes outside
of The Academy that actually interest me. All of the courses before senior year were math
and science and I would say I am definitely not superior at either of those subjects. I can
admit, if I am not good at something I generally dont want to do it. However, during
senior year I took a ROP Child Development and Psychology course that has made my
career goal definitive. Although this course is not an Academy class it is important to my
academic development because without it my future would have been unclear. I am proud
of my performance in this class and I am especially pleased with the outcome of the
Child Psych paper I completed at the end of semester one.

The class objective was to first learn the development and growth of a fetus into
infancy, and then analyze the behaviors of pre-school aged children. The first semester
involved a thorough, in-depth investigation of the appropriate and effective uses of
contraceptives, the process of fertilization, the growth of a fetus in the womb, and the
process of birth. The second semester was entirely an analysis of the behaviors of 3-5
year old students through an educational pre-school where my fellow peers and I taught
the students once a week. My Child Development final was a research paper on a specific
Child Psych topic that was covered during the year. I wrote a comprehensive paper about
the effects of violent movies and video games, exposure to sexual content, parental
pressure to compete in sports, and last but not least, pressure to perform in school. This
met the objective of the course by meeting all aspects of the essay guidelines and
reflected my knowledge from not only the course, but also the extensive research I had
done. I learned so much from my research paper and I have never been so invested in an
essay topic. I was entertained by research for the first time in my educational career.
While this project was not an academy project, it challenged my thought process
like much of the academic material in The Academy does also. Writing this paper
improved my critical thinking skills, writing and reading skills, as well as did much of the
course. The extensive research I did throughout the class developed my reading skills
because during Child Psych there were many foreign vocabulary words I had to look up
the definition of. As a result I will understand those words when I encounter them in the
future while reading. Critical thinking played a large role in analyzing behaviors during
the second semester, as did improving my writing. Each week we wrote an in-depth
analysis on the children practicing both skills thoroughly for 14 weeks.

But of course, I credit most of my high school educational growth to The


Academy so lets not forget incredible academic leaps Ive taken in the last four years.
Because of its structured yet artistically lenient academic style, I learned how to master
everything from self guided work to group projects. The entire academy; upper core and
lower core, have similarly structured approaches toward teaching that are beneficial to all
students subjected to the brilliance of our academy teachers. Upper core is a bit more
challenging and a lot more about critical thinking, whereas Lower core is about getting
adjusted to the academically rigorous material that is slowly supplemented as the years
move forward. In my upper core classrooms I feel I have used my potential and the
knowledge I already have to be brilliant in my own way. Mr. Cline pulls knowledge that
is in every student out and puts it into words, improving my critical thinking skills,
reading, writing, vocabulary, and in turn my speaking skills as well.
The atmosphere in every academy classroom is well put in just one simple word;
safe. I have never felt more at home than I do while in an Academy classroom. Of all the
placed on campus Im glad I have at least one where I can feel completely and
unapologetically myself.
A new part of me developed and discovered only in the last few months of The
Academy is my will for social activism. Although I had never thought of leading a
movement my Plus 2 project class inspired a new part of me that I had only experienced
a few times before. The objective of this course was to display social activism through
art by using art as an agent of change. My project was a poetry book covering a variety
of social justice topics. I used poetry as my media of choice because writing comes easy
to me and that way I knew I could effectively; but creatively, project my demand for

social justice. My project met the goal of the course because I was able to skillfully
reflect my opinion on a diverse group of social injustices, demonstrating the social
activism demanded of the course.
I learned that I am passionate about more than one social injustice that effects
more than one demographic. This led to my project defending more than one social
class/background instead of one. I wanted variety in my book end felt the best way to do
so was to include more than one topic. I also learned the difficulty of staying on schedule
when given a long term timeline of completion. This project was ultimately time
management, a skill I am slowly beginning to understand because it has never affected
me so extraordinarily as it had in this course. But let us also remember that being an
activist isnt about stopping world hunger in a day. It is about believing that you have the
power to make a difference to those who starve, no matter how long it takes. My
personal experiences and those of my family and friends generated my social activist
movement. One topic discussed is my family history for metal instability. My mothers
mental illnesses affect me everyday, but it is not only her mental instability that causes
detriment to my daily life, but it is mine. Understanding what it means to be a social
activist has opened me to this difficult realization. You must first understand what you
can do to be a better you in order to convince others to better too.
The Clayton Arts Academy has made me better. My growth as a person is
astronomical compared to my artistic and academic growth, and growth as an agent of
change. I am proud to be who I am, and I am proud to have been a part of the Arts
Academy for the last four years. Although the road is frequently rough and there are
many glitches in the system, I know my final outcome will be better than anyone could

have imagined. I am a work of art, and it is thanks to that Clayton Arts Academy that I
can love myself; or at least I can try. This environment has nurtured my mind in every
single aspect of my life. I have had a home away from home for a long time and getting
used to life without will be difficult, but I am ready. I will always remember the
emotional, physical, and friendly support I received time and time again in my days in
the Arts Academy. Whether I was the broom, or if I was the mess, there was still a family
foundation beginning the first day of my freshman year. Always a friendly face. And I
know many of the relationships I made here will last into adulthood. I cannot wait to
impact others with my art and all that I have learned here, and to learn new things and be
inspired again and again. I will continue to paint my pathway, Let the journey begin!

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