I have a lot to say about my experience here at AAST, this place has really helped me grow in just two years, and it didn’t even feel like it was that long here. I thank my parents, teachers, counselor, and all of my friends; Mel, Brayden, Brennan, Hailey, Max, Blake, Charmayne, Desmond, Jasmine, Maria, Rawan, Alyson, Peyton, Cody, Royelle, Dakota, Stephanie, Damon, Nolan, Gio, Jamison, Xander, Gideon, Kas, Sam, Jakob, Cole!
 
When I first came here, I wasn’t a social individual, I mostly minded my business, had shorter hair, and hung out with Mel. But as I spent more time sitting among my classmates, I would overhear their conversations and notice they all had similar interests to me, so eventually I’d gradually become more talkative. Another thing that helped me interact more were Charmayne’s letters. She was reaching out and wanting to connect, her letters had made me feel included and accepted, so I thank Charmayne so much for helping me become who I am today.
 
The staff here are great, not just the teachers, we’ve had plenty of sharing amongst each other, especially the custodians, they compliment my hair and we’ve had a few laughs together. I’d also like to thank one of the cafeteria ladies for giving me a chicken sandwich while it wasn’t on the menu, that made my day. Thanks to the librarians for giving Mel and I puzzles to do everytime we’re done with the prior.
 
The teachers are all amazing, they do their jobs in making sure we get to doing what we need to do while also making sure we are doing alright. Special thanks to: Etherson, Penn, Simmon, and Sellers, All these teachers had made my class periods enjoyable and educational to go through, they had found great middle grounds between teaching and mentoring. Etherson as my Mastery teacher, her advice and her getting us into varying competitions. Simmons for our back and forths, I had even given a little violin for him to play whenever he needs to. Penn as my theater teacher, her class period was very therapeutic and was another contributing part towards making me interested in the acting field. Sellers for the variety of lessons and advice he had given us for our future outside of school. Thank you to ALL my teachers i’ve had these two years
 
All of my friends have been great to learn or hangout with. Mel for being with me for all of my years of highschool, she had seen me through many stages in my life, so she understands me inside-and-out, she is the greatest friend anybody could ask for. Brennan for being my definitive ‘Guy Friend’ we’ve done plenty together, especially that moment in which we were together recording for an Etherson assignment. Max for her relatability and pretty much getting any considerable niche reference I throw as we are both chronically online. Desmond as a great advice giver and funny dialogue we’ve had together. Charmayne again for her lovely letters that I have hung up on my wall in my room at my mom’s. Maria and Jasmine have great chemistry with Mel and I, our groups together have been a great mixture and I can’t wait to watch the Digital Circus movie with our group of 4. Brayden, Cole, Raia for being great artists for inspiring and pushing me into working harder on my artpieces and while we haven’t talked much, I’d like to hang out with y’all over summer break. Xander for being my boss in Blue Gear while we both designed games and befriending me before I came to AAST, he has shown me a lot and I’m happy I had made a friend online, and by extension all of my other Blue Gear friends that I’ve made through Xander. I sadly can’t thank everybody that I had listed down here due to time but I'd like to write it all down eventually.
 
AAST has been one of the greatest decisions i’ve made in my life, if i hadn’t applied to come, I would probably still be sitting alone under a tree almost getting hit by a soccer ball daily. All of the people I've met and shared experiences have become great boosters towards shaping me as a student. Thank you AAST for accepting me and giving me a chance to bloom into a better person!