My High School Record Accuratley Reflects Me

When it comes to getting things done in my life I like to actually get them done.  It is important for me to always complete what I set out to do sufficiently.  My grades are usually consistent and while they are not the best they do reflect that I put in effort to my work.  It is important for me to do strong work, yet I do not stress myself out over it.  While grades are important, they are not the focus of my life.  I enjoy learning and getting good grades, but I will not go to extremes to make sure that every grade is perfect, it is an unnecessary utilization of my time.  My sports also reflect my ability to be consistent and stay strong.  I have participated in my sports every year of high school.  Even though they are a challenge, and balancing them with school work can be overwhelming at times I do understand that giving up is not an option for me.  I do wish that I could do more clubs, yet I am often pressed for time.  Overall I'd say that my school record is average and consistent and while sometimes I succeed, sometimes  I fail.  To me that is acceptable because I know that I am doing the best I can for myself and I am always trying.

Myself

My name is Leah Bernstein and I was born on July 11th, 1994.  Iv'e spent my whole life living in the small town of New Paltz, just an hour and a half north of New York City.  I spent the first 5 years of my life living with a single parent.  My mom was everything to me and I was everything to her.  Yet she didn't let me hold her back from anything, instead she brought me everywhere, whether it be sneaking me into r-rated movies or having someone watch me at the bottom of the cliffs while she rock climbed.  Even though we didn't have much, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, we still had each other and that's all that mattered to me. When I was five, my mom got married.  A lot of things  changed that day, no longer where we a unit of two.  We became more of a family, settling down and buying a bigger house.  We didn't go on  many adventures and we stopped moving from house to house.  In a way I was more content, I could finally decorate my own room and feel like I had a place of my own, but losing the adventure and spontaniety aspect of my life deeply saddened me and still does.  My brother came along when I was 6 and a half, halfway through my first grade year.  He brought so much love into my life.  I treated him as my own baby, feeding him, bathing him, and tucking him in at night.  He has made me into a much more loving and understanding being, because I would do anything for him.  I have lived through many different circumstances and experienced a lot of change.  All challenging me to become a stronger person.  Even though my life hasn't necesserily been the so called norm, it has shaped me and prepared me for what is to come.

What I do for fun in my free time

While free time is often hard to come by within my constantly buzzing life, when I do have time to enjoy myself I like to paint.    When faced with the inevitable feeling of boredoom I often feel the need to be creative.  I wander down to my basement and open up the door to my mom's art studio.  Within it contains art supplies galore.  Paintings hang on the walls, lay on the floor, and are strewn about the room.  Glitter is everywhere as I search through the pile and pull out a blank canvas.  Should I paint water color? Or should I use acrylics, maybe charcoal or tempera.  I pull three tubes of acrylic out of the bin and pluck a paintbrush from the can.  With my paintbrush and paints in one hand and my canvas in the other I make my way into the backyard and sit next to the lilac bush.  I paint the lilacs, making soft brush strokes, mixing whites, purples and blues to create dimension and shading.  The painting takes an abstract turn, as I turn the lilac bush into a purple monster.  It seems to pass the time quite sufficently as it helps me to focus and appreciate the things that go unseen in life.

3. Passionate

I look into his eyes and wonder what he is thinking.  I don’t see the stare of the million others walking by, but someone that is looking back.  The embrace is electrifying, when I wrap my arms around his neck and snuggle my head into his chest, I feel safe. He teases me, pulling back then grabbing me foward, i like it.  He tickles me until I say stop because it hurts from laughing.  He’s down to just lie on the bed and breathe each other in, not saying a word, just enjoying our bodies pressing together.  We sit together for hours talking about nothing but at the same time everything.  I look up and an hour has gone by.  I can’t find your flaws, and I’ve really tried to look for them.  Could you be the right one?  I enjoy you so much.

2. Reliable

"We need you to run fast" she said as we grabbed our flats and waterbottles and began to warm up.  In only a few minutes I would have to run the 4 by 800.  A relay that consists of four people, each taking their turn running two laps (half a mile) with the baton.  I felt like puking.  I'd never ran with the fastest girls on the team before, and now they were relying on me to win?  My stomach turned as we approached the finish line.  I knew that this was my time to shine.  As she handed off to me, I ran.  I ran the speed my heart was pounding, which felt like 100 miles per hour.  Already I was approaching the second lap, and my whole body started to hurt.  "Suck it up Leah, you've got one more lap" I told myself as I rounded the first bend in the track.  Faster I went as Britta appeared waiting for me to hand her the baton and I just gave it my all, pushing myself into a full out sprint; finishing strong is important.  I sat in the fake grass on the infield gulping the air like water.  Every muscle in my body felt like it was tearing.  I knew I ran hard and it felt great.   We got first that day, and I cut 20 seconds off of my time.  The 4 by 800 team eventually made it's way through state quals and ended up competing at the state competition.  Not only was this race important to me, but the three other girls.  They inspired me to go hard, and not let them down, because I am reliable.

1. Adventurous

The distance team was supposed to run four miles; four boring miles around the school; four laps over the same boring grass.   Today was a day for an adventure.  We found the trail leading into the woods, hidden behind the softball field.  The path disguised by the flourishing leaves of spring.  One by one we ran down the path, that’s when we left the real world.  Into a jungle we entered, ducking for vines and leaping over swamps.  Farther we ran, farther into our imagination.  Birds sang and dragonflies rested on petals as we swiftly ducked fallen trees and balanced on rotting logs as we came upon an a puddle as big as a lake.  Two options greeted us.  Either we could turn back and forever wonder what lied beyond or venture forward and brave the water.  “Onward!” I shouted, as we ran through the water, our running shoes drenched by the mucky water.  Splash, splash, splash- we had made it.  Even though our socks were now brown and our legs were covered with mud we didn’t care.  Onward, up the hill we traveled.  Past the big climbing tree we ran, past the old apple crates that had been left there many years as we ran farther.  Over the hill we stoped in our tracks when something magnificent caught our eye.  An old house.  It was abandoned and rickety, the inside exposed by the missing windows and doors.  Onward, we climbed into the house, the floors rotting.  “Watch your step” said Naomi.  Piles of decaying wood, egg cartons, and broken light bulbs were strewn upon the floor.  We climbed the stairs, one by one taking caution of the fragility.  We were explorers, discovering something that had not been touched for years.  We didn’t know the purpose of this place, or why it was abandoned.  We searched for clues, carefully stepping around every corner.  Alas, we must leave.   It is getting late and coach might wonder where we are.  Backwards we travel, tracing our steps.  I enter back into the real world when I can see the   open field.  One look back to remember, there is no time for that.  I am already behind my other friends. 

The Afghan Girl

The Afghan Girl was a photograph taken for national geographic during the soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  This photograph is hard to look away from, the intensity in her bright green eyes grabs you and holds you.  So much raw emotion is pouring out of her eyes.  Shes frightened, pissed off, curious, and caught off guard.  Her emotions are pure and unmasked.  I feel what she is feeling, afraid of what is to come, cautious of the danger ahead of her.  The intensity I see in this, is incomparable to most other photographs as this was not set up or staged, she wasn't dressed up or wearing makeup.  The photograph was reality.  The reality of the emotions and feelings of the people of Afghanistan.