I came to California when I was only five, and after attending what my young self would say “a trillion million” preschools (and my mom would later tell me that I only went to two different schools), I went to my first school in California. I hated it because it was a place where being smart and tall was frowned upon, and I just so happened to be both. After that I was home-schooled, which contributed to my super nervousness around new people, shyness, and lack of understanding social cues. Then I went to “real people school” in 5th-7th grade where I was also teased, but at least there, there were “living people” and not just my imaginary friend, Ricardo. Then halfway through 8th grade, I shadowed at this weird school where everyone was loud, obnoxious, quirky and willing to speak their mind. I fell in love instantly, mostly with the free periods and healthy lunch, but also with what I could become by going to this school. I knew that going to this school would help me become a more friendly and outgoing person. ACLC has helped me come out of my shell. I went from not being able to say more than seven words to a new person to charming cashiers and new friends in three seconds flat. At this school I have learned the magic of friendship and the joys of being kind to everyone (no matter how much they annoy you). I used to freak out when talking to children younger than me to becoming, and I quote someone’s “all time favorite T.A.” I think if I never attended ACLC, I would have never learned to be as friendly, selfless and thoughtful as I am now.
At ACLC I have also learned some things regarding education; it is school after all. I have always loved math, science, and art, so I excelled in those during my time at this school. I have a special connection with math because to me, it has always been a constant in a world that is always changing. For example, when I had to move from Colorado to Iowa to Missouri, back to Colorado and then to California; when I was bullied in elementary school; when I finally grasped what divorce was; when the dog that had been almost like a second mother to me died; or when I learned that no matter how many times I wished for it, my family wouldn't look like the perfect ones that were on TV, I relied on math to bring order into my chaotic world. One plus one always equaled two, four times two always equaled eight, three to the second power always equaled nine, anything multiplied by zero would equal zero, and the square root of something squared would equal itself. Although math is one of, if not actually, my favorite subjects, the thing that I am most proud of, in the subjects that I stated earlier, is that I got a 109% out of 100% on a chemistry test in Sarah Hong’s class. I started studying for it the second I found out about it because I wanted to do the best I possibly could. I wanted to show Sarah that I could excel and that I could push myself and try my hardest to make her proud. I succeeded, she was really proud with how well I did, and it was one of the happiest days of my life. To this day I still have the test hanging on a wall in my room. While I was good in these subjects, I also had and still have problem subjects like history, independent P.E. and the writing part of English. I have been working on ways to develop more skills in these areas to be better prepared for college, and ACLC has helped me become a better writer. For instance, I was so bad at writing when I was younger that I had a writing tutor and I also took courses at night on how to be a better writer. For some reason, writing was and still is something I struggle with because I get distracted really easily or I am never quite happy and would end up just deleting everything I wrote. It was in Molly’s English class that I learned how to properly critique my work and realize that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I just needed a little more faith in myself to realize that my work is good enough to show to other people. It used to take me at least a month to write an essay and even longer to show anyone what I thought was the worst thing since video ads on YouTube. Over the years at ACLC, I have learned more about how I learn best than at any other time in my life. It was at this school where I learned I was an auditory learner, I love problem solving, and being creative is the most gratifying feeling in my life. In Carlton’s math class, which I must say is probably one of my most favorite classes that I have ever taken, I really felt like I understood everything, and for the first year I was confused as to why. It wasn't until I had a different math teacher that I realized why Carlton has this teaching style where he tells us what notes to write down, keyword being “tell.” The other teacher had us copy off the board and I struggled in his class, but the more I talked about it with others, the more I understood the concepts. I deduced that it was because my brain learns best when it hears things being said aloud. When I told my mom about my discovery, she said, “I already knew; you remember every word I say, but the second I send you a text reminding you to do something, you forget.” Now that might not have been entirely the learning style’s fault but was probably because washing the dishes wasn't really something I wanted to remember to do. Though “forgetting” is a terrible way to “solve” your problems, I actually learned some more effective way to work through a tough situation. I have a really hard time comprehending Spanish as a language. I don’t know why, but Spanish doesn't make any sense to me. So with ACLC having Spanish as its only foreign language, you can probably see why I find this a tough situation. At first my plan was to somehow freeze the nerves connecting my brain to my voice box so I could never talk again, but then I realized that might put a damper on my career as an actress and also that would prevent me from randomly ranting at my friends about the inequality of the representation of black cats in the media, and we just can’t have that. So when I was finally back in my right mind, I decided to take a language class at the college. I just had to find a language I didn't have a problem with, which was a problem in itself. Then I saw they had German as one of the college courses, and my heart lit up like Christmas Tree Lane in December. I have always been fascinated with German, and contrary to most people, I honestly think it sounds so beautiful when people speak. So to solve my problem, I just signed up for German, and now every Monday and Wednesday I’m learning Deutsch with Professorin Aida, and it is literally the highlight of my day every time. Sure, the tests are hard and I don’t have anyone to talk to, but at least I’m happy learning a language that I love instead of crying at 3 o’clock in the morning over the difference between Maña and banana. Also on this topic, I learned that doing things in ways I didn't think were possible makes the end result so worthwhile. In Carrie’s art classes, another one of my favorite classes ever (to put it in perspective, I took her class three years in a row), there was a project where we had to make an abstract art series. Abstract art wasn't really my cup of tea at the time, and I was dreading the project because I had to do not only one, but at least three abstract art pieces. I also had to visit family in Colorado during the pre-planning stages of the project so I couldn't do what I usually do in her art class, which is bug her every time I make even the slightest change to any part of my project so I would never get too off track. However, as I stared off into the Colorado sunrise at 5:00 in the morning, while listening to the song “Colorado Sunrise” because even when I’m contemplating my life, I like things to be in order, I realized that if I made the abstract project represent something that I like even though I’m not really a fan of the style, then I could try and fall in love with what I created and not care about what style it was. After this epiphany, I decided, well, to go to sleep first because jet lag was totally kicking my tail, but then I decided to make my project represent my favorite Broadway shows. Once I got back from Colorado, I completed my project and I can say without a shred of doubt in my mind that those paintings were some of my best work in Carrie’s class. They were so good and I had so much fun doing them that I actually fell in love with not only the project but also abstract art in general. My mom even liked one of the pieces so much that she got it professionally framed, and it is currently hanging in the living room, and it’s the first thing you see when you walk into my apartment.
Other than making me more personable in general, ACLC has helped me become a team member overall, making people I’m working for happy and being a good leader. I used to have three settings when I was working in a group, do all the work and do it how I want, do all the work but do it how everyone else wanted me to or do nothing because no one will let me help and get thrown under the bus later (well, it feels more like a yellow rental truck packed filled with fertilizer and fuel oil being driven over a cliff by a suicidal Mickey Mouse). At this school I have done many group projects and most were pretty successful. Some, I must admit, took a lot more teamwork than others, case in point, the Space Race powerpoint for U.S. history versus the Evolution Timeline poster for biology. Both projects were group projects, and they both were near the end of the year so they were high stakes and had a lot of points attached to them but, for the Space Race powerpoint in Jake’s history class, everyone had to do their own section and also had to show that it was the part they did so you couldn't do all the work yourself or the other group mates wouldn't get credit for the project. So the way my group did it was everyone got a slide and they just had to finish it, so there wasn't much working together after we divided up the slides. That was a cakewalk in terms of teamwork compared to the Evolution Timeline in Patricia's biology class. I was working with Chloe and Michelle Lou, and I must say that A) they are amazing partners, and B) I loved working on that project with them. For the timeline itself, there was a lot of work to be done, and we also asked for a bigger timeline than the original one we were given so that our measurements and pictures could be clearer. Chloe did most of the measurements and they were perfect, so me and Michelle did the art and we played off each other’s strengths very well. I understand copying anatomy and color theory well, but Michelle has this ability with high contrast shading and smooth line work that I can barely comprehend and envy everyday. We worked on the project together whenever we could, and it was to a point where we even worked on it over the weekend. Now before ACLC, I would have been like “screw y’all, I have more important things to do on a Saturday like sleeping or even more sleeping,” but I was jiving so well with them that I barely noticed my sleep deprivation. The project came out beautifully, and that was one of those projects that I remember and think “Wow....I helped make that!” At ACLC, I also learned the joys of making the people I work for happy. As you probably know, doing an internship is mandatory to graduate, and I decided to do my internship at Starland Music Center, which is where I take voice lessons. There I work with some very nice ladies named Aimee and Paula that brighten my day whenever we chat. One day there was a dilemma with storage. The small wooden shed where they stored ukuleles, guitars and violins had been turned from organized to total chaos within two days of Aimee spending two hours cleaning it up again. With the way the storage area had been set up, every time they had sold a ukulele, replaced a guitar or rented out a violin, everything got mixed up and misplaced. Aimee was so tired of people messing up her system and she had no idea how to fix everything. Now who came to save the day? None other than yours truly, Nia Luana Francis Brown! I realized that the ukuleles should be under the already displayed ukuleles so they were easier to replace once sold. I separated the violins by size, so all the 1/4 and 1/2 sized violins went on the right-hand side of the space, while 3/4 and full-sized violins went on the left-hand side. Now the most ingenious part of this plan is that I used the guitars themselves as the dividers for the violins so they were easy to grab but not in the way of anything. Aimee was so happy with me that she bought me a macaroon, and I was so overjoyed that I was helpful that I almost ran around the store, but I realized with my past history of clumsiness and the thousands of dollars worth of fragile instruments, that I would just have to settle with jumping up and down giddily. I have also “worked” for a teacher at this school. I didn't work but I have been one of Sarah’s Teacher’s Assistant, or T.A., since my junior year. I have learned so much about teaching and being a leader in that class that it astounds me. I T.A. with Morgan Reichert and I’m the wimpy T.A. out of the two of us. Since day one, they had this knack for getting the kids to quiet down or get the kids to stay focused on the task at hand. I was always the one that everyone knew they could play like a tuned fiddle. I was kind to a fault and people got away with a lot of stuff on my watch, but during my time as a T.A., I learned that leading was not only being nice and hoping people will listen or being really mean and forcing them to listen. I have learned that the happy median is being stern and understanding. I have become the T.A. I aspired to be last year, and now there are children that look up to me in a literal AND metaphorical sense. Just the thought of it makes me start to cry happy tears, but just like my figurative grandmother would say “happy tears are sweet as sugar and right as rain, so be proud that you have them.”
The technology at ACLC has a special place in my heart. Whether it’s no computers being available, broken printers or incorrect logins, me and the tech have never been good friends. It’s a love-hate relationship; I love it, and it hates me with all the RAM in its being. Alas, it has made me realize some pretty important things about technology in general. For example, a broken printer is no excuse to not turn in the homework. Even if I know I finished it on time and it was perfect, I won’t be able to turn it in because Main #2 decided that it was a hilarious idea to stop working the period before Molly was collecting one of the most important essays of the year. I also learned in that situation that printing to every printer is a great idea because at least one of them will start working eventually. Also, even though I have the same technological know how as a beached whale, there will be someone in the center that can fix the problem. On a note that makes me look less technologically impaired, I am thankful for the technology that we have in the center this year. I have been able to type my papers and print no problem and I found a productive way to use Facebook. The senior class this year has a Facebook page that we can use to ask each other questions and tell each other about events. I volunteer, more like I was volunteered, for the job as P.R. which means my job is to make sure everyone knows about everything that’s going on, such as events, senior bonding and things of that nature. I’m actually setting up my first listserve as P.R. as I am typing this, because multitasking is my default setting.
At ACLC I have also learned some things regarding education; it is school after all. I have always loved math, science, and art, so I excelled in those during my time at this school. I have a special connection with math because to me, it has always been a constant in a world that is always changing. For example, when I had to move from Colorado to Iowa to Missouri, back to Colorado and then to California; when I was bullied in elementary school; when I finally grasped what divorce was; when the dog that had been almost like a second mother to me died; or when I learned that no matter how many times I wished for it, my family wouldn't look like the perfect ones that were on TV, I relied on math to bring order into my chaotic world. One plus one always equaled two, four times two always equaled eight, three to the second power always equaled nine, anything multiplied by zero would equal zero, and the square root of something squared would equal itself. Although math is one of, if not actually, my favorite subjects, the thing that I am most proud of, in the subjects that I stated earlier, is that I got a 109% out of 100% on a chemistry test in Sarah Hong’s class. I started studying for it the second I found out about it because I wanted to do the best I possibly could. I wanted to show Sarah that I could excel and that I could push myself and try my hardest to make her proud. I succeeded, she was really proud with how well I did, and it was one of the happiest days of my life. To this day I still have the test hanging on a wall in my room. While I was good in these subjects, I also had and still have problem subjects like history, independent P.E. and the writing part of English. I have been working on ways to develop more skills in these areas to be better prepared for college, and ACLC has helped me become a better writer. For instance, I was so bad at writing when I was younger that I had a writing tutor and I also took courses at night on how to be a better writer. For some reason, writing was and still is something I struggle with because I get distracted really easily or I am never quite happy and would end up just deleting everything I wrote. It was in Molly’s English class that I learned how to properly critique my work and realize that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I just needed a little more faith in myself to realize that my work is good enough to show to other people. It used to take me at least a month to write an essay and even longer to show anyone what I thought was the worst thing since video ads on YouTube. Over the years at ACLC, I have learned more about how I learn best than at any other time in my life. It was at this school where I learned I was an auditory learner, I love problem solving, and being creative is the most gratifying feeling in my life. In Carlton’s math class, which I must say is probably one of my most favorite classes that I have ever taken, I really felt like I understood everything, and for the first year I was confused as to why. It wasn't until I had a different math teacher that I realized why Carlton has this teaching style where he tells us what notes to write down, keyword being “tell.” The other teacher had us copy off the board and I struggled in his class, but the more I talked about it with others, the more I understood the concepts. I deduced that it was because my brain learns best when it hears things being said aloud. When I told my mom about my discovery, she said, “I already knew; you remember every word I say, but the second I send you a text reminding you to do something, you forget.” Now that might not have been entirely the learning style’s fault but was probably because washing the dishes wasn't really something I wanted to remember to do. Though “forgetting” is a terrible way to “solve” your problems, I actually learned some more effective way to work through a tough situation. I have a really hard time comprehending Spanish as a language. I don’t know why, but Spanish doesn't make any sense to me. So with ACLC having Spanish as its only foreign language, you can probably see why I find this a tough situation. At first my plan was to somehow freeze the nerves connecting my brain to my voice box so I could never talk again, but then I realized that might put a damper on my career as an actress and also that would prevent me from randomly ranting at my friends about the inequality of the representation of black cats in the media, and we just can’t have that. So when I was finally back in my right mind, I decided to take a language class at the college. I just had to find a language I didn't have a problem with, which was a problem in itself. Then I saw they had German as one of the college courses, and my heart lit up like Christmas Tree Lane in December. I have always been fascinated with German, and contrary to most people, I honestly think it sounds so beautiful when people speak. So to solve my problem, I just signed up for German, and now every Monday and Wednesday I’m learning Deutsch with Professorin Aida, and it is literally the highlight of my day every time. Sure, the tests are hard and I don’t have anyone to talk to, but at least I’m happy learning a language that I love instead of crying at 3 o’clock in the morning over the difference between Maña and banana. Also on this topic, I learned that doing things in ways I didn't think were possible makes the end result so worthwhile. In Carrie’s art classes, another one of my favorite classes ever (to put it in perspective, I took her class three years in a row), there was a project where we had to make an abstract art series. Abstract art wasn't really my cup of tea at the time, and I was dreading the project because I had to do not only one, but at least three abstract art pieces. I also had to visit family in Colorado during the pre-planning stages of the project so I couldn't do what I usually do in her art class, which is bug her every time I make even the slightest change to any part of my project so I would never get too off track. However, as I stared off into the Colorado sunrise at 5:00 in the morning, while listening to the song “Colorado Sunrise” because even when I’m contemplating my life, I like things to be in order, I realized that if I made the abstract project represent something that I like even though I’m not really a fan of the style, then I could try and fall in love with what I created and not care about what style it was. After this epiphany, I decided, well, to go to sleep first because jet lag was totally kicking my tail, but then I decided to make my project represent my favorite Broadway shows. Once I got back from Colorado, I completed my project and I can say without a shred of doubt in my mind that those paintings were some of my best work in Carrie’s class. They were so good and I had so much fun doing them that I actually fell in love with not only the project but also abstract art in general. My mom even liked one of the pieces so much that she got it professionally framed, and it is currently hanging in the living room, and it’s the first thing you see when you walk into my apartment.
Other than making me more personable in general, ACLC has helped me become a team member overall, making people I’m working for happy and being a good leader. I used to have three settings when I was working in a group, do all the work and do it how I want, do all the work but do it how everyone else wanted me to or do nothing because no one will let me help and get thrown under the bus later (well, it feels more like a yellow rental truck packed filled with fertilizer and fuel oil being driven over a cliff by a suicidal Mickey Mouse). At this school I have done many group projects and most were pretty successful. Some, I must admit, took a lot more teamwork than others, case in point, the Space Race powerpoint for U.S. history versus the Evolution Timeline poster for biology. Both projects were group projects, and they both were near the end of the year so they were high stakes and had a lot of points attached to them but, for the Space Race powerpoint in Jake’s history class, everyone had to do their own section and also had to show that it was the part they did so you couldn't do all the work yourself or the other group mates wouldn't get credit for the project. So the way my group did it was everyone got a slide and they just had to finish it, so there wasn't much working together after we divided up the slides. That was a cakewalk in terms of teamwork compared to the Evolution Timeline in Patricia's biology class. I was working with Chloe and Michelle Lou, and I must say that A) they are amazing partners, and B) I loved working on that project with them. For the timeline itself, there was a lot of work to be done, and we also asked for a bigger timeline than the original one we were given so that our measurements and pictures could be clearer. Chloe did most of the measurements and they were perfect, so me and Michelle did the art and we played off each other’s strengths very well. I understand copying anatomy and color theory well, but Michelle has this ability with high contrast shading and smooth line work that I can barely comprehend and envy everyday. We worked on the project together whenever we could, and it was to a point where we even worked on it over the weekend. Now before ACLC, I would have been like “screw y’all, I have more important things to do on a Saturday like sleeping or even more sleeping,” but I was jiving so well with them that I barely noticed my sleep deprivation. The project came out beautifully, and that was one of those projects that I remember and think “Wow....I helped make that!” At ACLC, I also learned the joys of making the people I work for happy. As you probably know, doing an internship is mandatory to graduate, and I decided to do my internship at Starland Music Center, which is where I take voice lessons. There I work with some very nice ladies named Aimee and Paula that brighten my day whenever we chat. One day there was a dilemma with storage. The small wooden shed where they stored ukuleles, guitars and violins had been turned from organized to total chaos within two days of Aimee spending two hours cleaning it up again. With the way the storage area had been set up, every time they had sold a ukulele, replaced a guitar or rented out a violin, everything got mixed up and misplaced. Aimee was so tired of people messing up her system and she had no idea how to fix everything. Now who came to save the day? None other than yours truly, Nia Luana Francis Brown! I realized that the ukuleles should be under the already displayed ukuleles so they were easier to replace once sold. I separated the violins by size, so all the 1/4 and 1/2 sized violins went on the right-hand side of the space, while 3/4 and full-sized violins went on the left-hand side. Now the most ingenious part of this plan is that I used the guitars themselves as the dividers for the violins so they were easy to grab but not in the way of anything. Aimee was so happy with me that she bought me a macaroon, and I was so overjoyed that I was helpful that I almost ran around the store, but I realized with my past history of clumsiness and the thousands of dollars worth of fragile instruments, that I would just have to settle with jumping up and down giddily. I have also “worked” for a teacher at this school. I didn't work but I have been one of Sarah’s Teacher’s Assistant, or T.A., since my junior year. I have learned so much about teaching and being a leader in that class that it astounds me. I T.A. with Morgan Reichert and I’m the wimpy T.A. out of the two of us. Since day one, they had this knack for getting the kids to quiet down or get the kids to stay focused on the task at hand. I was always the one that everyone knew they could play like a tuned fiddle. I was kind to a fault and people got away with a lot of stuff on my watch, but during my time as a T.A., I learned that leading was not only being nice and hoping people will listen or being really mean and forcing them to listen. I have learned that the happy median is being stern and understanding. I have become the T.A. I aspired to be last year, and now there are children that look up to me in a literal AND metaphorical sense. Just the thought of it makes me start to cry happy tears, but just like my figurative grandmother would say “happy tears are sweet as sugar and right as rain, so be proud that you have them.”
The technology at ACLC has a special place in my heart. Whether it’s no computers being available, broken printers or incorrect logins, me and the tech have never been good friends. It’s a love-hate relationship; I love it, and it hates me with all the RAM in its being. Alas, it has made me realize some pretty important things about technology in general. For example, a broken printer is no excuse to not turn in the homework. Even if I know I finished it on time and it was perfect, I won’t be able to turn it in because Main #2 decided that it was a hilarious idea to stop working the period before Molly was collecting one of the most important essays of the year. I also learned in that situation that printing to every printer is a great idea because at least one of them will start working eventually. Also, even though I have the same technological know how as a beached whale, there will be someone in the center that can fix the problem. On a note that makes me look less technologically impaired, I am thankful for the technology that we have in the center this year. I have been able to type my papers and print no problem and I found a productive way to use Facebook. The senior class this year has a Facebook page that we can use to ask each other questions and tell each other about events. I volunteer, more like I was volunteered, for the job as P.R. which means my job is to make sure everyone knows about everything that’s going on, such as events, senior bonding and things of that nature. I’m actually setting up my first listserve as P.R. as I am typing this, because multitasking is my default setting.