by Michelle Yousefzadeh
I once thought that it was cool to wear a lime green boho skirt, an equally limey tank top, gold Rocketdog shoes and plastic earrings. This was my outfit for my first day of Harvard-Westlake. In my 7th grade mindsetâs defense, I was coming from a world of navy and white uniforms and K-Swiss sneakers. The thought of being able to wear anything of any color and any style was overwhelming. The possibilities were endless.
Likewise, my options for classes, clubs, activities, people to meet and food were nearly endless and as my parents were pretty trusting of my judgment, I actually had complete freedom to do whatever I wanted. I was dropped off in the AD building and I headed to first period English with Steve Chae, halo of neon green and all.
Looking back on all my choices, Iâve realized how many times Iâve messed up. Like my outfit choice for the first day, I made decisions that werenât always the best. They usually involved choosing a class that was too fast paced or committing to too many activities. Still, it was through these mistakes that I was able to learn to recover.
Our school provided the ideal learning environment as there was always a way to get back to the road of success. Think about it, teacherâs offices are fundamentally designed to accommodate students. Their desks always have room for another chair and their schedules are designed with open periods meant for meetings with students. My transition from North Faring road to Coldwater Canyon has been full of potholes and detours but there has always been a teacher to talk to or another chance to learn from my mistakes.
Our school provided the perfect environment to grow as a student. Almost every teacher here is intensely passionate about what theyâre teaching. With abundant resources, we have been able to pursue any whim or project. I was able to take any class that sounded interesting to me and although my one semester of drama steered me clear of any ambition of performing, I still learned so much.
I may not have been an H-W poster child, as I didnât take all APâs and I didnât get straight Aâs, but I do feel like the school allowed me to be a certain type of motivated, creative, prepared scholar, not possible for me to achieve at any other school. Harvard-Westlake definitely breeds a specific type of student. I commend the senior class on our efforts, successes and the amount weâve grown since we started.
