I am a member of a large family consisting of my mother and father, two older sisters, older brother, younger brother and younger sister. In case you're wondering, it can get a little busy in my house from time to time. Not only do we have a lot of people in our house, but a lot of pets as well. We have three dogs: Rocky, Rosie, and Finley, as well as two cats, Jingles and Pazzo. While sometimes it’s hard to find some privacy, most of the time I have someone to talk to.
As I previously mentioned, I have moved around a couple of times. I was born in Washington D.C., and after living there for three years, we moved to Anchorage, Alaska. While I was only a toddler, I can still say I have touched a glacier and used to see moose and grizzly bears often. From Alaska, we moved to its exact opposite, Las Vegas, Nevada. This was a large transition due to not only the change of climate, but also because of the change in social environment. Finally, we moved from Las Vegas to Holden, Massachusetts, which is where I currently live.
At the age of three, I began to learn how to ski. At the age of four, I was introduced to soccer and baseball, both of which I played through seventh grade. Not only did I start soccer and baseball at the age of four, but I also started to go on lots of hikes. Living in Las Vegas at the time, we were close to many beautiful hiking areas. We hiked as close as Red Rock right outside the city, to Moab, Big Bear, and finally Zion National Park. In fifth grade I started to snowboard and found that snowboarding contributes to my love of winter. I still snowboard as much as possible during the winter. The next major sport I got involved in was Cross Country and Track. During my freshman year at Wachusett High School, I became a full-time runner, running the mile and 800 (m) during track, and pole vaulted in the spring. Pole vault continues to be my favorite sport, as I utilize basics physics to fling myself into the air. Both in and out of season I attend the Patriot Pole Vault practices, where I continue to improve while having a blast. Visit the Patriot Pole Vault Page here. I also attend the Central Rock-climbing gym occasionally, and I enjoy riding my bike when I get the chance. Check out the Central Rock's home page here.
So far, the bulk of the community service I have completed was at Abby Kelley Middle School. The first day I went in, I taught 5th graders about evolution and how the shapes of different bird beaks have their advantages and disadvantages in meeting a bird's needs. On the second day, I taught 7th graders about spool racers. The students had to make their spool racers using rubber bands, and they learned about potential and kinetic energy throughout this activity. They also went through the engineering process. Overall, I had a lot of fun teaching these students, and I am looking forward to returning for next year's activities.
The rest of my community service will be through my church. I will be lecturing throughout the year, and helping out around the church. I have already been lecturing, although just haven't counted it for community service. I find lecturing helps me with public speaking, mainly being comfortable talking in front of large crowds. Lecturing has also helped me improve my diction and clarity when I speak, and I look forward to continuing to improve through lecturing.The other activities I will participate in through my church include food pantries and soup kitchens. I hope to be able to give back to the community through these opportunities as community service remains an important aspect of my life.