Class of 2017
Academy
Williamsburg
Austin Beaty
What can I say? I'm me, always have been, and always will be. I don't ever want to be normal or formal; the weirder the better. I am an Air Force brat born in California, who then moved to (in order) Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Hawaii, and then before the semester is over I’ll be moving to Wyoming.
I never really had something that I had on my schedule all the time before I began Williamsburg. I played baseball, went to school, and just hung out with friends. But over the last few years I have slowly been starting to change and learn more about myself through the good and the bad, highs and lows, successes and failures, and I hope I never stop. I have found a love for horses and never thought I would. I love cheesy 70’s and 80’s movies, I listen to everything from Queen to Johnny Cash to Twenty One Pilots to Rush. I am a massive nerd in two categories, tech and and just plain geek, I can talk about anything comics, movies, games, and the characters for hours, while the other person says ‘uh-huh’ and is quietly praying I stop talking. I love old TV shows like M*A*S*H, Mork and Mindy, and pretty much anything else that the majority of
the people my age have no clue about. And about the only things I ever remember are useless information (thanks dad), like how long a chicken can fly. The answer is 13 seconds and you will never forget it. Trust me I have tried.
For all of my years in school, I have always been in public school. That was all I ever knew, and I actually liked it. I am also an Air Force Brat, so we move all time. New schools have always been a part of my life and I wouldn't change that for anything; sometimes I admit that I wish I could have stayed in one town and had the same friends from kindergarten to senior year. However, I never would have been able to see the places I've been and the people I have met. I moved to Hawaii from Georgia in the summer before my Sophomore year, and had just from the best school I had ever attended. I absolutely loved it. I enrolled for the public school here and started when the semester began, I was miserable, I did not feel comfortable and could not concentrate on school and my grades were tanking. No one cared about their education, I had one teacher that would not even teach when he didn’t feel like teaching. I had one friend and we were both sick of that school. And then my best friend and her family recommended Williamsburg, and jokingly were constantly trying to ‘convert’ me to Homeschooling. Eventually I gave in and have loved every second. It is difficult to change gears from learning from a textbook and standardized tests, to picking up books and article from around the world and form my own opinions. I find myself
listening to BBC News and a few years ago I would not have understood a single thing they were talking about, but now i can listen, understand, and determine my own opinion based on what I have learned; it is a seriously cool feeling that I never would have felt during public school.
I moved to Hawaii from Georgia in the summer before my sophomore year, and had just from the best school I had ever attended. I absolutely loved it. I enrolled for the public school here and started when the semester began, I was miserable, I did not feel comfortable and could not concentrate on school. No one cared about their education, I even had one teacher not even teach when he didn’t feel like teaching. I had one friend and we were both sick of that school. And then my best friend and her family recommended Williamsburg, and jokingly were constantly trying to ‘convert’ me to homeschooling. Eventually, I gave in and have loved every second. It is difficult to switch gears from learning from a textbook and standardized tests, to picking up books and articles from around the world and form my own opinions.
I was never a straight A student all the time, however if procrastination was a class, I could teach it. Through Williamsburg I have definitely learn the hard way sometimes about what procrastination can do to you. So there have been ups and downs in the last few years. But I have learned that all I have to do is apply myself and just forget about the past failures. I never have been good at math, but the one thing that I would like to have a career in has an incredible amount of math (Engineering) and I second guess myself all the time about whether or not I could actually complete that degree. But then I look at my history, and realize that all I have to do is apply my self. That is all it took before and all it will take in the future.
The choice we make day to day will end up molding us for the long run. Life will not always be easy and won't always give you a passing grade so you keep moving on and trying until the day you get it right. When I was little I told my pastor how I viewed God and Jesus. And I said God is like the principle and Jesus is the teacher and we are the students. I don't remember how old I was when I said that, but i know I was pretty young. That is always how I have seen the world, I believe that in ways it does work like that to a point. We won't always get that A+ in that lesson, if we did, we would need to be taught then. We all still have so much to learn still, unimaginable amount of lessons to be learned, especially as we seniors trade our childhood and school for college and life. Sometimes it sounds terrifying but there we have survived this long right? Who says we can't continue to keep going.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail”
I always felt that there is always another way, no matter how many doors are shut there will always be another, all you have to do is walk through it. There are many, many roads that are coming close and we will have to choose which one to follow. But who said we have to choose any of them, why not add one of our own, create a custom path for only you to follow; instead of having others follow your path, it will show them how to create their own path creating a domino effect that will allow everyone to be different and have the strength to forge a new path and continue it. That path will not always be easy either, and you won't know or understand the mountains and valleys your path will cross, however, that is what makes the journey so great.
I know the future will always be changing and will constantly be too difficult to map out no matter what we do. But we can still try and always go for what we want and dream of. After this semester, I am going to attend community college for two years and then transfer to a university to complete a Bachelor's degree in Engineering. Before this last year I never had really thought about college, I knew I would like to go but never knew what I wanted to do or where to go. For the last year or so I have been tied between Engineering, Architecture, and Equine Science. I could not make a decision, and then I stopped and thought, go for the one I have wanted and still do the most, I have all my life ahead of me, nothing is
ever set in stone, I can always change my mind later on. Just make a decision and go for it, that is the first step to find what you truly want in life. I may not know exactly what I want to do at the moment. I do know that more than anything, I will do everything to find out, even if it takes all my life, and I hope to enjoy every moment of it.