​

“I love people. I especially love seeing how they act, grow, love, communicate, and share. Reed to me seems so very human. The way classes are organized, discussions are held, and people are treated suggests that the school was and is designed by and for people. Conversely, many of the other schools I researched appear to have been designed for robots. Huge lecture halls with hundreds of students who might occasionally pose a question to interrupt their professor may be the most efficient way to teach, but it is not the most human way to learn. When we learn like robots, we are prone to myopic thinking, lacking in creativity and critical thought. When we learn by dialoguing and collaboration, we become more connected to ourselves, allowing us not only to learn, but to grow as well.”

 

“One of my favorite pastimes is to explore the outdoors--more specifically, to take paths either rarely or never taken. Often, I will go hiking with the sole objective to explore a given trail and its branching paths in its entirety. When I come to a fork in the road, I follow each path to its end, before turning around and doing the same for the sister trail. When I learn, this same explorative nature drives my desire to learn. For example in music I make an effort to follow every path of learning, be it the mundane practicing of rudimentary feats, or the satisfying playing with friends and family of music so raw and so new.”

 

“A desire to explore is a deeply human drive, and I am deeply human. That is why I want to go to Reed, to explore. To go far away from home and explore the depths of my mind, my body, and my spirit. Abroad, where new experiences are plentiful and hit you harder, is where you may learn the fastest. This winter break, I had the opportunity to travel across the Atlantic with just a backpack and a close friend. We landed in Paris, hitched a train to Amsterdam, then Marseille, Barcelona, took a bus to the microstate of Andorra, and then back to Barcelona, before catching a plane to Lisbon and heading home. Never had I planned a transcontinental trip before, but once I was out and there was no turning back, I just had to figure it out (with no help from the dismissive Parisian railway employees). Now I turn my head away from civilization and plan to head into the beautiful scenery of SoCal’s natural wonders, going backpacking through the Los Padres, Sequoias, and Death Valley with two friends over spring break. As spring break is just over a week, we have to run a tight ship, and so I have planned the day by day for every campsite (even though I know fate is likely to tear my plans to shreds).”

 

“The best place to lead from, is the back, watching, helping, and getting to know those who you are in charge of. One who leads from the front is often blind to what goes on behind them, preventing them from making fully informed decisions.“

 

“There is more to leadership than a list of tasks that might come with a position. It is nurturing an environment of camaraderie, understanding, and rapport, allowing you to work as a proper unit rather than a group of people forced to work together.”

 

“Creativity and art are indivisible.  They are a constant positive in my life and have pushed me toward overall betterment of myself. Teaching practice, patience, and communication has built my life and mind to a mold beyond the box. The same drive that pushes me to creatively express myself draws me toward artistic expression.” 

 

“Music has a chaos to it, in any context other than human interpretation it is merely a wall of noise which may or may not happen to have consonant ratios in frequency. It is when noise is practiced and performed articulately that it becomes art. When jamming with friends I am able to put this chaos into practice, allowing myself to fall in line with the wall of noise while still retaining my voice within it. One must keep track not only of what they’re doing, but also what their peers are doing, what they might do, and what they’ve already done in order to act as a proper unit.”

 

“Music and poetry have also become staples of my life in recent years, avid both as a creator and as audience, allowing me to explore myself in ways not previously possible, and in turn come to have a better understanding of myself.”

 

“Poetry has been a more direct outlet for me. When there is something that is troubling to me I may spend hours deliberating on word choice and rhythmic flow until a poem is complete. By then whatever was burdening me has become no more than words on a page. This is true too when reading poetry, from Dante to Brontë to Shakespeare to Poe, all manage to put into words the human experience and alleviate those feelings within myself.”

 

“Creative expression is not limited to creation. There is much to be experienced and much to be learned in the works of others. It was Rumi who said  [in regards to his poetry] “The truth is, you are speaking, not me. / I am Sinai, and you are Moses walking there.” When experiencing the works of others it is still a creative exercise as our interpretation is a reflection of our own beliefs.”

 

“Creation gives a sense of purpose. Gathering a group of people, each with his/her own respective sound, and from that creating an expansive and full sound is the most visceral form of creation. It connects us to our human roots — almost every culture no matter how separated by distance or geography has incorporated some form of music into their lives, and with every act of music we bring ourselves closer to our past — hence fulfillment.”

 

“Emotional intelligence has not always come easily to me; when I was younger, I lacked control over my emotions and had great difficulty showing vulnerability. Through trials and time, though, I have learned the ability to better express and explain my emotions not only to others but to myself as well. Emotional vulnerability, for example, took quite some time to master, as I once viewed expression of vulnerability as a weakness. As a result, I’d have a difficult time expressing myself, and in turn understanding myself. I now recognize that there is an inherent strength in showing weakness, and that not all weakness is folly.”

 

“In order to best accommodate oneself, they must first understand themself, as without knowing the origin and roots of one’s emotions it is impossible to adjust accordingly. This is why I hold emotional awareness to be one of my most prized skills. Over time, I have learned a great deal of empathy, awareness, control, and vulnerability, all of which have allowed me to further myself as an individual.”

 

 

“The world is full of stories more interesting and provocative than one any individual can write--cautionary tales and powerful anecdotes alike can be found in the chronicles of our shared past. For this reason, I’ve always felt drawn towards history. I spend much of my time digging into the past through the lens of books, documentaries, and countless hours on Wikipedia.”