Reflections

• 

  Dear myself 6 years ago,

  You are 12 and still trying to fit in to your 7^th grade class at Blue Ridge Middle School. I know that your friend group has not changed since you were six, and that you’ve finally gotten your bangs to grow out, and that you can’t imagine living anywhere but our small, beloved, country town of Lincoln, Virginia. Your routine consists of one-way bridges, cherry trees that blush in the spring, and a close-knit community.

  You befriended two girls in kindergarten and they became a part of your shadow as you grew. They were often mean and unkind, but your options for friendship were limited in this small town, so you learned to tolerate their selfish tendencies. You remember vividly the instance in which you won a raffle at school, however the jealousy of your seatmate caused you to give up your prize for the sake of preserving your ties with her. Seven years later, and you still walk delicately around the glass canon that is your friendship. However, these girls have taught you to be resilient, fierce and work hard for what you desire, whether it apply to a career, school work, or the relationship between 12 year old girls.

  You haven’t seen much of the world. For most of your life, you’ve been confined to your country roads and dairy farms. But by making an annual trip to Boston and Cape Cod, you consider yourself lucky to have access to these beautiful places, where the ocean is endless and the stars don’t seem so far away. They have expanded your horizons. No longer do you only know the frequent power outages and overpopulated insects of rural living, but you now have an outlook on just how big the world is, and how much you can accomplish. Your eyes have grown larger than your stomach, and your appetite is for the world.

  Later this year, your father’s job will move you to Denver. You’ll be unsure and scared and homesick. The change to an urban environment will make you reserved and quiet. However, your uncertainty with turn into passion as both your faith and family become a strong point in your life and you strive to do well in your academics.

  School days will pass quickly and your teachers and family will cultivate your curiosity. You will make some wonderful friendships with girls you’re confident you’ll know until your last days. You’ll apply to Denver University, among others, during your senior year of high school. This school is chosen for its beautiful campus, proximity to home, financial compliance, and the promise of propelling you into a happy and successful future. Later that year, the opportunity arises to select your first class of the upcoming semester. You’ll scroll through countless options and finally settle on a class with content: Fracturing Fairy Tales.

  You’ve always adored fairy tales. You can remember watching The Little Mermaid as a child and wishing you had red hair to match that of your favorite princess. Stories captured your heart at a young age when your father would make up adventures to tell you before bed. You remember vividly the tiny world existing in the sockets of the electrical outlets. Therefore, this class seemed perfect for you. It would satisfy both your interests and school curriculum.  

  Now you’re starting your first days at college. You’ll be nervous and unsure of the future, but you have high hopes for what you will gain from this class and from the community. Growing up in an area where you had to drive an hour to the nearest shopping mall, has allowed your imagination and independence to prosper. You can bring these elements to this class, and allow yourself to be taken by your mind and discover new ways to learn, study, and experience. Your hollow friendships as a child have aided you in developing strong work ethics that you hope will propel you to great achievements. You don’t want your writing or assignments to not represent your best work, but instead display your innovation and drive.

  However, you are still more reserved than you would like. You find it hard to speak up in class or give presentations. Your fear of embarrassment or failure often dictates your speaking abilities. If you were told to write an essay or prepare a research paper then you’re golden, but in other situations, your presentation may fall short. Therefore, you hope that this class will help you in pushing yourself into areas where you are not comfortable. You also desire for it to turn you into a learner who always gives their best effort and is often pushed beyond their known capabilities.

  This course will not only aid you in expanding your knowledge of fairy tales, but also in applications for real-life situations. You believe you will develop skills for dealing with difficult people, or overcoming obstacles, or learning to not procrastinate on homework assignments. You plan to be successful in this class, and you believe it will be a great gateway to the rest of your college career.

  Remember: always try your best in your academics, don’t give up on those meaningful friendships (they’ll come soon) and don’t worry so much – we turn out great.

   

                                                                                      Love,

                                                                                      Yourself, 6 years later

   
• 

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• Liv Bazos  

   

  Dear past me,  

   

  I know you’re probably wearing that blue splatter-painted New York sweatshirt again, and I promise that very soon you will realize how ugly it is and that you need to try harder when it comes to what you wear to school. I bet you would be pretty surprised if I told you that the friends you have right now will soon be distant acquaintances. You don’t know it yet, but things are going to change a lot – for the better though, don’t worry. You will do your Freshman year at Lexington High School, but once you figure out that you have executive functioning difficulties (you’ll understand it when the time comes), you apply to Lawrence Academy. These will be some of the best years of your life. I cannot wait for you to experience it. 

  How has your anxiety been? Never mind, don’t answer that. I know it makes everything ten times harder. I know you never wanted to go to sleep away camp, but what if I told you that in high school you will be going on a two-week trip to the Galapagos Islands? Trust me, you will not be the least bit anxious, you have finally overcome those absurd fears. You will eventually put your fears and worries aside. In a year or two you will learn about FUSE, a camp for little kids with disabilities. I know working with peers who have autism has always been a passion of yours, but this will be quite the step up. Prepare yourself to get kicked and spit on. This job will shape you into the compassionate and patient person that you always push yourself to be. At Lawrence, you pushed yourself to discover new places like the Galapagos and Belize.  

   Spoiler alert: you end up going to college in Denver! I know I know, how could you ever possibly be that far from home? Trust me, it is way better than you think. You will love it and I am so excited for you to see it in a couple years. You know that as a little girl you did love the Disney princesses – especially Ariel – and you wore a tiara every single day when you were a toddler. But as time went on, you realized it was just a phase. You started to see everything in this world in black and white. There is no room for stories that are filled with unrealistic dreams and magic. So it is pretty ironic that you will end up taking a class about fairytales. But I am sure you will be relieved to find out that you will be studying the old, scary, messed up versions of the fairy tales.  

  My hope for you, and my present self, is that you can learn to be more open minded, maybe see things in a little more color. Try and think about the different cultures you have seen and experienced and how fairy tales may be different for them. Your siblings have been and always will be the more creative and more artistic ones, and you always sell yourself short. I want you to take leaps, have faith in yourself that you can be creative too! It can be hard to try things out of your comfort zone, but you will come to learn that life will be so boring if you do not challenge yourself to the things that make you uncomfortable. In your fairy tale course, you will have to do a lot of creative writing. That is not up your alley, but unfortunately you do not have much of a choice. I know that you will use what you learned about yourself and the world around you throughout middle and your upcoming years in high school to make the best of your abilities in the class.  

  You will make mistakes, and you will go through some hard, dark times. But I promise that in the end it leads you to an amazing place where you will be able to truly be yourself. You will learn so may new things, and you will continue to challenge yourself in situations to better your yourself and to get to know the amazing people around you. Keep working hard, I whole-heartedly believe in you. 

   

  Lot of love, 

  Future you 

   
  

• 

• Please post all of your reflective letters in this folder. There should be at least three. I would also encourage you to include reflective photos or images (perhaps of a past or present you) to accompany the letter. Or, you might include an embedded blog, link to a video or podcast, etc... Work with creating more than a static page.

  Please be sure to replace these instructions with a simple description/overview of your reflection.