Who Am I?
Hey there! My name is Maile Jeng and if you’re thinking of how to pronounce that think Miley Cyrus. I’m currently a junior at Freestyle and Los Altos High School and am learning Design. I’m an artist, although people have told me that they can tell just by looking at me. I enjoy experimenting with style and finding ways to look unique through how I express myself. Sometimes that’ll be through my hair and sometimes my clothing, I want to exist in a way that is purely me.
My Values
One of my core values is adaptability. As someone who’s moved twice and who’s been to five different schools without knowing anyone there, adaptability has been something that I’ve had to learn. Being able to go with the flow even if it’s something I don’t want to do, to meet new people and learn to work with them in short periods of time, is something that I value heavily. Another one of my core values is taking chances and risks. This really applies to how I ended up at Freestyle in the first place, I took a chance without a second thought. I applied to Freestyle late, after the schedules were supposed to be solidified, but I felt that maybe I’d come to Freestyle and regret it but at least I tried. So far it’s been something that I feel zero regret towards doing and one of the best choices I could have made for myself. My final core value is relationships with other people. I believe the best part of existing and being here on earth is the connections that we are able to make with other people.
Hobbies and such
I would say that I’m a pretty artsy person both in school and outside of school. I enjoy creating art, although more specifically painting. For me, painting and making art has always been a way to get myself to do something, to think more about the world around me. In many ways art is like writing, except without the words. You’re trying to convey a meaning and get something across to the viewer, hopefully making them feel something. Outside of painting I also enjoy reading. The habit came from when I was younger and it never really left, maybe only changing slightly in preference of genre. Reading is a way to forget what’s happening in the world, only focusing on the words on the page in front of you. Another hobby that I have is music, and more recently, learning the guitar. I’ve always liked singing, even to the point of taking lessons, but currently I’ve started learning the guitar as well. Learning art and learning the guitar is sort of the same to me. When you first learn something you’re really bad at it, but repeating and repeating, enduring, until you’re actually able to make something.
What do I Want to Achieve?
My expectations of myself as a Freestyle student are really just growing. In both my abilities and creatively. I want to be able to have the ability to create the things I want to. By going to Freestyle I’m able to learn all of these different skills and while I might not be a master at all of them, understanding how to use them gives the basic ability to be able to do essentially anything. I want to grow my artistic ability and be able to learn how to creatively think.
Why I Like Freestyle
What I value about being a Freestyle student is the community it gives. A lot of the time it’s hard to be who you are and find others who share the same interests or passions as you. Freestyle allows people to come together and find a shared place to work together. I also value the freedom and difference that it gives from normal school. There’s an actual want and passion behind the work that we do rather than working on something just assigned to us.