REFLECTIVE ESSAY

When I started ACLC in the 6th grade I knew that I was at the right school. Walking in ACLC for the first time ever, I did not know what to expect. I felt welcomed and I knew that I made the right choice of coming here. It was like a new life to me because I did not know anyone because I came from a school that was on the other side of Alameda where all my friends were. All my years at ACLC have been like a rollercoaster to me. It started out with me not knowing anyone to knowing a lot of people who are now my friends. It only took a couple of days for me to get use to this environment and being comfortable with it. Since coming to ACLC, it has given me many skills. A big skill that I have from this school is time management. ACLC has gives me an opportunity to manage my time on free periods. This is a way for me to think that school can be fun as well.

After being at ACLC for all these years, I have learned many new things. Being at this school has given me an opportunity to learn on how to manage my time. Learning this skill come from my free periods whether I wanted to do work and get it over with or to relax and hangout with my friends until my next class. It was also a way for me to get my work done early so that when I go home I can just relax and not worry about doing it. One of the best things about ACLC is the free periods because it makes it different from other schools. ACLC has many social activities, which gives us the opportunity to for us to meet new learners who we have never met before and get to know them. Since ACLC is not a very big school, I know a lot of the learners names and friends with them.

ACLC has taught me me many important “new basics” over the years. The most significant new basic that I have is communication and languages. Communication is an important role for me because I want to be someone who is capable of communicating with others. Learning this new basis is important to me as mathematics is important to not just me but everyone. Math is something that I have never taken seriously until now. It is a big deal to me know because figuring out what I want to do with my life is to be an Engineer and that requires high level math. Math is something that I enjoy now and hope to have it involved in a career later in life.

Thinking and Reasoning skills are something that I have always been good at when at when visualizing ideas. Visualization is a skill that I am the best at and have had since a young age going back to when I was in Elementary School. When it comes to working in group projects I’m the one who plans out how the image or scene is going to be. I have used this skill throughout my years at ACLC when working on projects and it has been successful in every way. For example, my sophomore year I had to make a spanish video for Spanish and I planned out a video for my group to film. I am always doing my best to put it in a way that I will like and how everyone else will like it. This skill is not only required for school related work but for projects outside of school where I helped out my old Elementary school for a school carnival when I was in middle school.

At ACLC, I have learned about things where I can teach other learners what they need help with. I was a tutor after school in my freshman year and currently an Teacher's Assistant for an elective class that I have took previous years in the past. When I first began ACLC I would attend M.A.S. (More Academic Support) as a student and older students would tutor me. I enjoy teaching people new things that I was taught when I was in their same position and getting help from older learners just like they are and to make not only myself feel good but them as well.

Technology is an important feature not just to ACLC but to my life. It is not just for entertainment but it is also a way for us to learn. Being at ACLC it has taught me many new things about computer hardware when I was involved with Tech Team. Technology has a huge impact on my life because it is a time saver by making assignments much easier. As technology improves and becomes better over the years it will not only make things easier but it will teach me new things. Regardless of the technology I will work hard and be able to produce what you need, as long as it doesn’t require coding. At this school I have learned how to use Microsoft Office that includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The technology at ACLC is not the best but it does enough to get the job for us to get our work done.

Throughout the years at ACLC it has shaped me into the person as I am today. I was a shy kid entering this school and now I am a person who loves to communicate with others. ACLC has helped me believe that I can achieve any obstacle throughout my life. This school helped me learn new skills that I will always have for the rest of my life. As I move forward with my life I can look back at ACLC and know that it was a life changing experience.