{"id":313,"date":"2019-10-28T20:21:30","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T20:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freestyleacademy.rocks\/~SpencerC\/?page_id=313"},"modified":"2020-02-05T11:57:32","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T19:57:32","slug":"reflections-english","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~SpencerC\/reflections-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections \u2014 English"},"content":{"rendered":"

Essence Objects<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

In English, for the Reflections unit, we focused on writing our personal essays for college applications. To do so, we read through\u00a0College Essay Essentials<\/em> by Ethan Sawyer. The first step in our brainstorming process was to come up with a list of 20 or more “essence objects”\u2014 objects, either physical or non-physical, that defined who we were. Here’s mine.<\/span><\/p>\n

On top of the list, I’ll also be adding a brief description for each item to explain its significance to me and how it affects me.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Essence Object #1.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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  1. CD copy of \u201cMellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness\u201d<\/span><\/span>\n
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        1. This is my favorite album of all time, and it’s helped me through the lightest and darkest of times alike.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
        2. DVD copy of \u201cThe World\u2019s End\u201d<\/span>\n
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              1. This is my favorite movie, and it’s one that’s given me a deeper understanding of storytelling, both visually and verbally.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
              2. Vivid yet faded green hoodie, beaten by the years and bleached by age<\/span>\n
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                    1. I wear a bright green hoodie from the November 2016 PYT production of The Wizard of Oz<\/em> that I was in. I wear it almost every day, and became kind of known for doing so. Richard Fukuda gave me the nickname of “The Big Green Man” because of it. I’ll take it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                    2. Green manual transmission Honda CR-V, rattling and rusting with 21 years but maneuvering like a mechanical eagle<\/span>\n
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                          1. This is the car I drive: a 1998 manual transmission Honda CR-V. It may still technically\u00a0belong<\/em> to my parents, but I’ve grown rather attached to that car.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                          2. Long expired train ticket, ripped at the sides and falling apart<\/span>\n
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                                1. I’m a train enthusiast, so there you go. I suspect there’s always one of these deep in my backpack, having never been cleaned out from trips over the summer.<\/span>\n

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                                  Essence Object #3.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                2. Map of the United States, covered with red and black lines wrapping every which direction, beaming with energy and enthusiasm and cluttered with words and phrases<\/span><\/span>\n
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                                      1. I’m too lazy to actually make a map like this, but it’s intended to show that I love to move\u2014 to a fault, actually, where I want to move at all times and always be somewhere else. I rather enjoy traveling, and I’d love to go just about everywhere I can.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                      2. Ice cold can of soda, coated with condensation<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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                                            1. I like soda. Next.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                            2. Amateur handheld video camera on an ancient and disfigured tripod<\/span><\/span>\n
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                                                  1. This is one I’d have to kind of disagree with now. It refers to my waterproof LUMIX camera from 2012, one that I’ve used to film various recordings, and an old tripod I’ve found in a closet, dating back to the Dark Ages. But I wouldn’t really say this embodies me so much.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                  2. 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of a train crossing over a bridge<\/span>\n
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                                                        1. I like trains, and I also have an obsession with doing jigsaw puzzles. I’ve completed many different 1000 piece puzzles within the span of 24 hours. Yes, ladies, I’m still available.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                        2. A literal bolt of lightning inside of a glass bottle<\/span>\n
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                                                              1. I love weather\u2014 especially thunderstorms. Lightning is gorgeous, and thunder is eerie and beautiful. Oh yeah, and I’m also deathly afraid of both. I have astraphobia, a common phobia but still a word that no autocorrect has been able to understand actually exists in the English language. Essentially, I love thunderstorms, but only if I (and everyone else I care about) is inside and safe.<\/span>\n

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                                                                Essence Object #11.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                              2. A high quality image of a gray, cool, textured, and comforting overcast morning<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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                                                                    1. I like cloudy days. Go check out my Perspective Piece video over in the Digital Media section.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                    2. An expired and dissipated fastpass for Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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                                                                          1. My family’s a little bit Disneyland crazy. Or more than that. I’ll never admit how many days I’ve spent in that park, and I don’t want to sound like a braggart so I won’t tell you. But “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye” is an attraction that I highly respect for its amazing pacing, wonderful soundtrack, and absolutely mind-boggling theming. I could also rant for days about how much that ride needs a touch-up in the theming department. And I’m pretty sure my wallet perpetually contains an old expired Fastpass that I’ve never bothered to recycle.<\/span>\n

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                                                                            Essence Object #13.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                          2. A flattened, rusty, smooth and thin sheet of what once was copper currency, sacrificed to memory<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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                                                                                1. My friends Richard Fukuda and Jacques”Haquis” Kaweski went out to a restaurant in downtown Mountain View, followed by the Mountain View Caltrain station, after school on a minimum day back in sophomore year. The exact date was actually October 19, 2017. Something about that day was just so carefree and fun, and it’s a sort of magical memory that I can’t explain. But on that day, my friends took spare change and placed three pennies on the rails to crush them into flattened pieces. I didn’t put any of them on the rails because I had a stick up my ass, but I still have my own one and I carry it with me in my wallet everywhere I go.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                2. An orange feline, yellow-green eyes piercing through the helpless world<\/span><\/span>\n
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                                                                                      1. Cats are awesome. I have 3, and I’ve had 5 total in my life. That’s all, really.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                      2. A Key West powerboat, providing a skillful bridge between the wilderness and the town<\/span>\n
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                                                                                            1. I got my boating license in August 2019 after learning how to drive a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee. The two weeks I spent there over the summer were some of the best of my entire life. They feel so far away now… but it meant a lot to me.<\/span>\n

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                                                                                              Essence Object #14.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                            2. A middle finger, defiantly pointed towards the heavens, implicitly accompanied by a multifaceted grin<\/span>\n
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                                                                                                  1. In other words, despite every time I feel like I screw up or I’m screwed over by the world, I try my best to just keep my head up and go onward. I especially like the “multifaceted” part.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                                  2. A crisp, clean, and smooth deck of vibrant Bicycle Rider Back playing cards<\/span>\n
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                                                                                                        1. I must have been getting desperate at this point. Back in 8th grade and 9th grade, I obsessed over cardistry and collected playing cards. A pretty impressive collection, too.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                                        2. A jar containing the fresh water of a lake<\/span>\n
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                                                                                                              1. Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Tahoe are two of my favorite places in the world. And lakes are far superior to oceans as well. Fresh water is incomparable to salt water… blech.<\/span>\n

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                                                                                                                Essence Object #15.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                                              2. A smooth and chunky crystal, lit from within by a colored light, alternating between red and green<\/span>\n
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                                                                                                                    1. Okay, so, I’ve spent a while trying to break this one down. If I remember correctly, this is where I got very, very desperate and just squeezed in a blatant metaphor. It reflects the two sides of me, ever-changing between happiness and sadness, very much out of my control.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                                                    2. A jar of mayonnaise with one of the N\u2019s crossed out<\/span>\n
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                                                                                                                          1. I don’t like mayonnaise. But I LOVE “Mayonaise”! In fact, it’s my favorite song ever written. And, spoiler alert, its lyrics contain my yearbook quote…<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
                                                                                                                          2. An organized list of highly specific personal experiences<\/span>\n
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                                                                                                                                1. I love organizing things. Dumb things that don’t matter, that is. Not actual school assignments or responsibilities. I also love telling stories about my past, so, yeah.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                                                                                                                                            Personal Museum Curation<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

                                                                                                                                            We went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as is Freestyle tradition. It actually happened to be on my half birthday when we went, so it was a real treat for me, since I… don’t like modern art. Too much. At all.<\/span><\/p>\n

                                                                                                                                            I was actually somewhat ecstatic to do this Personal Museum Curation project, as I had quite a bit to say about what I saw there. Unfortunately I didn’t include my favorite photo, which was taken of a red rectangular mirror on the wall, in which you can see Michael Tucker in the reflection looking confused and me flipping off the camera shamelessly. I didn’t include that photo for obvious reasons. And I won’t include it here for the same obvious reasons.
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                                                                                                                                            \n<\/span>So the idea of this project was that we chose from art pieces we saw there and wrote about ones we would include in our own hypothetical museum, as well as ones we would not include in that museum, and explanations for our choices. Here’s my museum, lovingly named after the town in The World’s End<\/em> (because I guess I ran out of creativity when making this).<\/span>
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