In Edge I was asked certain questions. I want to answer them and give my final blog post as a student in Edge.
Who were you when you came in?
When I came into Edge I was a quiet person. I did not like to speak about who I was and what happened to me in the past or the project I was working on. I don’t think I really spoke when people were around me, but I had so much to say and was the strongest voice in the group. Then after tours came by with families interested in Kildonan, it became easier to talk to people, but I still had no idea what I was suppose to say. Slowly, I learned how to communicate better. Soon I felt comfortable speaking about myself in front of crowds, even going as far as advocating for public schools to have better education in the New York State government and speaking to senators. I felt braver by the end.
What did you learn?
I started out in Edge learning about science fiction. I read “The Star” by HB Wells and learned more about the world of science fiction and actually wrote a couple of short stories. Soon I was getting bored with the idea learning about science fiction, because was I burnt out from all knowledge I learned from working so hard. Then Mrs. Charlap mentioned tessellations because of the drawings that I made in art class. I had no idea what that was. It was patterns so I looked at them a little. Then the next day she said that she meant to say fractals, not tessellations.
My first couple of thoughts about that new word was, what is a fractal and how is it important to my life? So I learned all that I could with and about fractals. Here is a small list of basic fractals: rivers, equations from math, and some very basics of physics. I felt like I was speaking a language that nobody else knew how to speak. So I used the same pattern, fractals, to figure out my way of learning.
Then it came to leaving eleventh grade. I was excited to leave and come back for the next year. Over the summer I learned more about scrapbooking, which is a hobby in my family. I said out loud to my mom, “I wish they had this as a job.”
My mother replied, “That is a job, and it is called Graphic Design.”
So I looked further into this field. Graphic Design helps describe my way of learning. So I took some FIT pre-college classes in the city during the fall and ended up loving it. After that experience, I decided to apply to college for graphic design. I got into all five art colleges I applied to, and I chose my number one college, Lesley University: College of Art and Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Do you feel like you will be successful in college?
Yes, I do feel I will succeed. Most people don’t think you can be successful in college because people who don’t understand others with learning differences think we are lacking. I know I won't be that way in college. This is because I am hard working. I know myself very well and I can tell what my limit is and what is not my limit. I have learned problem solving and creativity in Edge, which were harder to learn before I joined the program. I will use this work ethic to help me out with learning because I know myself as a unique, hardworking, zany, chaotic, and amiable person. I feel as if I learned more with the addition of Edge than just regular classes.
What are you going to leave behind?
I ask myself this question a lot. This is because I did a lot of work, but it is the process of my work that has left a powerful mark in this community. I will leave behind a legacy of fractals, my brain and knowledge, and ideas for others. I helped show people that it is ok that you can be you. I also helped teach Ambrose a new way how to write in a form called fractal writing. I am not worried for the future. I feel very confident. I have learned from my failures, celebrated successes, and I am able to move forward. There is a quote that I have found by B. B. King, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” Even though I did not use this as my senior quote, this means learning is beautiful, and no matter what, don’t let anyone take that away from you.
