Class of 2017
Academy
Williamsburg
Jared Severn
“Dare to be different; dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose; dare to make it known.”
-Thomas S. Monson
Most stories start with humble beginnings. The hero lives in a small village that nobody has heard of, or some shire that few visit. And then comes the call to adventure. For myself, I suppose it all began in a public school by the name of Foxborough. It was your ordinary grade school; there were many things that it failed to teach me, however. They taught me how to read, how to write, how to do well in school. However, they couldn’t teach me to love these things. I have a diary entry written by my crude second-grade writing that states that we had read all day, and that I’d considered that boring. If you got to know me today, you’d find that I’m exactly the opposite. Reading is my passion.
Either way, however, all good things must end. The school lost its money when I was about to become a third grader (Which I was rather upset about; third graders were the only ones who got to be on the big toys every single day), and my wise mother decided that she didn’t want us back in the Public School. She decided teach us. Each of us. Having six children was not easy on her, but she did well for a period. However, after a point she found herself overwhelmed by the responsibility. So, we searched for alternatives for schoolwork.
We were directed to online school by a relative. I took middle school at a different school by the name of Leadership Education Academy, or LEA for short. There a love of America and Shakespeare was kindled, a fire that still burns today. I took a good many classes there, acted in “The Tempest” as Prospero, learned a bit in Biology, and even wrote a twenty page essay. Either way, I graduated, and was referred to Williamsburg by that same trusted relative. That’s when I started quite the adventure.
Williamsburg put me through the ringer, as far as schoolwork. In the beginning, I only took a couple classes to get a feeling for what we were doing. Williamsburg certainly included work I’d never done before, such as Midterms. I can’t say I’d ever done a proper science project. Either way, It was definitely an adventure. Each semester was rigorous, tough, and time-consuming; more so than the last semester. I remember thinking each time that it couldn’t get too much more difficult, just to be proven wrong with the next wave of classwork. I very quickly got to know my strengths and weaknesses. Leadership, writing and reading classes came rather easily to me, while math and science classes were a bit more difficult to comprehend. I learned a love of biology (again), and learned to love history far more. And the books. My goodness, the books! There were so many good books to read, sometimes I’d feel both overwhelmed and excited by the prospect. Through all that hard work I learned discipline, determination and the ability to fail properly. Strange, how failure is a skill as much as the next one. However, once you learn to accept failure and to use it as a tool to learn, you’ll find yourself unstoppable. There won’t be anything you cannot do.
One event from Personal Leadership still stands out to me, even after all this time. I was in Personal Leadership at the time, Mr. Denning teaching it. There were words that he said that struck me. “Happiness has nothing to do with your circumstances. Happiness is a choice. So, choose to be happy.” Never had anyone put it so plainly for me, and something clicked into place. From that day on, I’ve chosen to be happy; not because somebody made conditions to encourage that happiness, but because I decided that it was better than any other emotion. I suppose it wasn’t too difficult a change, knowing my personal dispositions and stances, but it was something that I remember very clearly. It’s something I know that I’ll take with me for the rest of my entire life.
Now, if my journey here at Williamsburg was anything like the Hero’s Cycle, you know that there was a time where the Hero went through “Death”. It was a hard choice, between the study Guides, the SARs and the Science Projects, but the award goes to Finals. Every Finals I would both metaphorically and mentally die. Than I would rise from the ashes to finish the work, a completely new and stronger Jared. Also, a couple chocolate bars helped the transformation. Every time.
As far as lessons I’ve learned from over the years, let’s begin with the obvious: Don’t procrastinate. Be willing to bite the bullet and work hard. You won’t regret having finished the day and finding no work to be done. You’ll regret it, especially if you procrastinate large projects. The stress will crush you.
Second, be a team member. I’ve done so many group projects or activities where there is somebody who just won’t reply or do anything. They just sit on the sidelines and expect others to pull their weight. It ruins group projects. Work together!
Finally, don’t sit and expect the teacher to teach you. Learn actively. If you don’t understand the concepts, learn a bit more! Louis L’amour once stated that “He who ceases to learn is already a half-dead man”. Don’t stop learning, whether you’re in school or whether you’re working at a job. Eat a slice of humble pie if you have to, but never, ever stop learning.
The motto states as follows: “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” I completely agree with Mr. Emerson in this. Don’t be afraid to take the road less traveled. There will be thick underbrush, bushes, perhaps even branches whipping at your face at times. However, when you’re finished with that road, you’ll look back and find it made all the difference. Don’t “go with the flow”. You’ll regret it. Grab Life by the tail, climb up and ride it like it’s a bucking bronco. At least that way, when it inevitably kicks you off, you’ll be able to say that you gave it all you had.
As far as plans for the future… Well, there’s no shortage on that. What’s next? The plan is to save up for an LDS Mission and perform my responsibilities. After that, I will be applying to college so I can learn more. I have hopes to get a doctorate in something, but I haven’t quite decided yet. I can’t plan the future completely, after all.