Class of 2017
Academy
Williamsburg
Hunter Morrow
So this is me. Before I came to Williamsburg school was rather difficult for me. I was a huge procrastinator and would always wait until the very last minute to get my assignments in and somehow managed to pass with decent grades. I also was very complacent. I had no future goals or plans and just lived each day as it went by. I also had trouble finding out who I was. I constantly doubted myself and my ability which really made it hard to do what I thought I wanted to do. However, things changed when I got to Williamsburg. Little did I know that school could actually be meaningful and fun.
So, here I am on my journey to Williamsburg. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I knew I wanted
a different learning environment because I wasn’t learning as much as wanted to at my previous school. I felt like I was just memorizing the material for a test and only that. I asked my mom if I could go to a different school and she found Williamsburg. I'm so thankful she found this place! I went in with no expectations and was very surprised. The classes here had a different air surrounding them. For the first time ever, I was actually surrounded by people who wanted to learn.
I was also surrounded by mentors who knew exactly what they were talking about and this made me excited about learning! Classmates would participate in class, we would have discussions, and it was just unlike anything I had experienced in the past. Thinking back on it now, I still remember most of the things I learned and I feel it’s because the mentors actually teach the material for the joy of teaching rather than for a standardized test. If a teacher makes the class fun and interesting then it’s easily rememberable, in my opinion.
For example, I still remember the simulations in U.S. History. I still remember all the discussions in Political Literature. I still remember the workshops in Algebra. Every class had something unique in the way that it was taught which made it stand out from all the previous classes I took before Williamsburg. I really wish that other schools would try this too. I really believe that Williamsburg is one of the only schools that encourages this type of learning and I hope that they fulfill their mission and changing the education system because I want every student to have the opportunity to experience this type of learning.
In these past few years, I changed so much as a person. I would even go as far to say I’m a completely different person from my past self. As you can see, I shaved off that massive fro haha. Granted, I still struggled with self-doubt at first while I was here but thankfully through talking with some mentors I have composed myself. I’ve learned that you can’t be afraid of anything. That was what I struggled with for the longest time. I was terrified of failure. I don’t know why but whenever I would start something I would always think of all the bad that can come out of it and stop immediately.
For example, I wanted to be a musician but then thoughts like “You won’t have financial security” and “What if the message you're trying to give doesn’t reach people” would start clouding my mind and I would stop. Then I would try something else only to experience those thoughts again. I went in circles of wanting to be this and that and every time I would stop because of the overwhelming fear that I wouldn’t be successful. This happened for the longest time
until one day I asked myself what does it mean to fail? Does making a mistake mean you failed? Absolutely not! The only time you have failed is when you don’t get back up. There will be a lot of small failures but that’s a part of life, you learn from your mistakes. It’s when you stop trying that you have failed. When I realized this it’s as if the fog cleared from the path and I saw a new horizon. So, my advice to my peers who have this problem is to not be afraid and take many risks in life. Don’t let fear stop you because it’s better to try and not be successful than to not try at all.
As for what I want to do in the future I can’t say I know exactly. Williamsburg has taught me how to learn and I plan on learning as much as I can for the rest of my life. Who knows I could become a writer, a musician, podcaster, etc. I don’t know for sure. But what I do know is that wherever I am in the future, I will always seek to know more than what I already know, and I have Williamsburg to thank for that!