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Carlos Ortiz

Mrs. Angulo

AP English Language & Composition

19 May 2017

Junior Year Reflective Essay

Throughout the school year, the outcomes produced by my strong dedication to education

and music performance have reflected success that I always visualized of achieving. As quoted

by Booker T. Washington, Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has

reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. His central idea portrays the

significance of success obtained by challenge, and further depicts my idea of how self-imposed

challenges positively impacted me throughout the year. Whether a pleasant or miserable

experience caused by the pursuit to develop my character, several key events have influenced my

perception and outlook.

Through personal experience, I constantly found myself complaining about school, not

because it was difficult, rather I found it significantly uninteresting as I wasnt being challenged.

I develop sentiments of disinterest if my brain isnt engaged, however, junior year served as an

outlet for this predicament as I tested myself with seven classes total, four of which were

Advanced Placement. Despite the significant jump from one AP course my sophomore year in

addition to the uncertainty reflected by my peers, I continued my streak of straight A

qualifications because of my added interest in information presented and complexity behind the

smallest assignments. This allowed me to grow academically as I comprehensively began to

understand the way my intellects develop, although, courses I took such as AP Calculus AB, AP
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Computer Science A, and AP English Language & Composition, are dominant in collaboration

which has influenced me to socially work intuitively with others.

Through my involvement as the Front Ensemble captain of the Sierra Vista High School

Marching band, the application of leadership reflects qualities of cooperation, dedication, and

integrity that present a difficult challenge when responsibilities arent enforced. As a new leader

my sophomore year, I constantly struggled in maintaining focus across the ensemble because

many were older than I was. These individuals were dedicated likewise to everybody, through

their cooperation and integrity was lacking because I wasnt experienced enough the understand

what is required to effectively lead a group of people. Due to this, I began to take misconceptions

and my mistakes into consideration; eventually, a more authoritative leader developed inside and

I was able to effectively manage and lead the ensemble. My position carried on throughout this

year, however, a significant outcome is reflected by the respect that I was given by nearly all

members of the band. In addition, other leaders became attentive of my tactics which they

reproduced to successfully lead their group while simultaneously boosting music performance

throughout all individuals. Altogether, the respect developed me personally as it increased my

confidence as an icon of unequivocal influence, though it also helped me grow socially as many

would look up at me through inspiration.

Despite challenges that result in significant outcomes, my participation in the Every 15

Minutes program this year marked my influence through academic and character integration.

The event is designed to dramatically instill teenagers with the potentially dangerous

consequences of drinking alcohol and texting while driving, though its central idea revolves

around an integral question, how would you be affected if a friend or peer passed away? As a

victim, the experience started when I was pulled out of the class by the Grim Reaper. I was
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asked to stand next to him and watch a police officer read an obituary specifically written for me,

though it all seemed so fast as it broke me to see distressed expressions. After being consolidated

with other victims, the main event of the car accident occurred. Throughout the whole process,

life felt surreal yet happening. The Baldwin Park Police and Fire Departments in addition of a

coroner and an ambulance dispatched by Kaiser Permanente surrounded the scene. Many

students were left silent while watching participants suffer or be questioned, though I

physically broke when the love of my life died at scene. After the event, all participants of the

program were taken to Forest Lawn, a cemetery in which we were explained the complex

process that occurs after an individual passes away. Although many of us had not experienced the

loss of a loved one, nearly all of us were made to feel vulnerable in some form that made us want

to go home. For the night, our home consisted of a hotel. No one had access to their smart

phones, therefore we all bonded in a way that many dont acknowledge today. Staying awake

until midnight participating in activities is expected to be something pleasurable, though every

activity had a hidden meaning that altogether made everybody isolate themselves in the end.

Through a video, we all visualized our own death occur and it led to a silence that the faintest

noise could be heard. This led to a moment of reading letters written by our parents. I read my

mothers letter and throughout, I also watched the tears fall upon the paper that concluded in I

love you. The whole program was an emotional rollercoaster that impacted me to be more

expressive of what is right and wrong. Likewise to others, I was chosen to be participant by a

few teachers and I take it to heart that I am viewed as an individual that has a significant and

influential impact on the student population.

In conclusion, there were several key experiences throughout junior year that influenced

my perception and immediate desires. Ranging from academics to involvement, I developed to

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an extent that allows me to visualize what my imminent future consists of. Not only did I enjoy

junior year because of the students and teachers that motivated me, but because the experience

presented a continuous challenge to further improve my character and image.