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I was born on the first of July 2011 in Geelong. I was a very shy and sweet child, similar to who I am today. I was the second child in my family with my mum, dad and an older brother, Jacob. I rarely cried, and fell asleep all the time when I was young. I was a passive child, and that quality has stuck with me for my whole life.

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I was 3 and a half years old when I started kindergarten, and it was the time of my life when I really started to develop an identity. In kindergarten, I knew all my classmates well enough, as I was an extraverted child, but I made 2 very close friends, Ilka who I am still friends with today, and Lucinda. It was in kindergarten when I developed a thirst for knowledge, and loved arts and crafts and writing, and this early passion has lead me to making several great achievements throughout my later years.

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In 2016, I started my first day of primary school.
On my first day of school, I discovered some new friends that I never knew would be such an important part of my life. I already had my friend Ilka, but I made two new friends, Daniel and Hugh, who are still my best friends today. They have all taught me lots of social skills and have supported me for the 7 years I’ve known them.

I also learned discipline and discovered gratitude in the simple things. My sister was one year old and cried a lot and seldom slept, so without her, I wouldn’t have been able to simply appreciate peace and I would be a lot less patient. Even though she is quite annoying, she taught me skills I never would’ve been able to learn on my own.

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The next year was a blur, yet it was still one of the most important years of my life. For my whole life, I had access to a piano at home and I would try and play it, though it wasn’t until this year that I started to have piano lessons, and it has shaped my identity the most into the musical person I am.

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2019 was my overall favourite year and was also the year that nurtured the creative side of my life. Halfway through the year, a new student, Dustin, had come to the school and didn’t have any friends. I wouldn’t have initially tried to be friends with this new student, but my friends told me I should, and I’m very glad I did. I had become good friends with him, and although we don’t converse with each other regularly anymore, it was very comforting having him as a friend for that year.

The grade 3 camp had occurred this year, and it was one of the first real camps without parental supervision. I didn’t particularly enjoy the nighttime arrangements, but overall it was a great experience as camping developed a great desire for the outdoors and I would never give up an opportunity for it.

In addition, I got an iPad for school in grade 3, and with it, I discovered several video games. One of my favourite games was Minecraft, as it was a very creative open world game. The amount of building and exploring grew my creative side as I now deeply enjoy drawing and architecture, but some mini games I played developed my reflexes and intuitive thinking, which made playing this game not only enjoyable and relaxing, but somewhat benifitial.

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2020 was the year when the Covid-19 Pandemic affected everyone, and my family decided to move to Geelong for the year to escape the major lockdowns and curfew in Melbourne at the time. I did my remote learning here, and being able to sit down and work without any distractions helped me focus better and it paid off as I developed a good work ethic over the year. Because lockdown helped me develop a a good working agency, even though the year could’ve gone better, it still was one of my favourite years of my life.

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It was in 2021 where I transitioned the most into the person I am today. I performed at my first concert playing the piano, which helped me with my stage fright, and it was a highly enjoyable and educational experience for me.

I also discovered a new hobby of solving Rubik’s cubes. My older cousin would solve them all the time, and so I tried to solve one myself. It took weeks, but I eventually solved one and memorized a simple method, which I was proud of myself about. It’s now been a whole year since I began this hobby, and after several months of perseverance, I can now solve a Rubik’s cube in under 9 seconds. Now only has the hobby revealed a new talent, but developed the skill of processing patterns and memorising solutions too.

The main change of my identity this year was trying out tennis. For my whole life, I was not interested in any kind of sport and as a result, terrible at athletics. I still have a long way to go to be the best athlete I can be, but after playing tennis, I developed a sporty part of my life and really enjoy strategic sports. If it weren’t for tennis, I wouldn’t be nearly as fit now.

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In grade 6, it was the final year of school, and even though I didn’t have a captain role, I wanted to make a difference, so I decided to join the Junior School Council team and joining this group gave me a say in some desicions in the school. This was my first time in a leadership role, and it has taught me several skills in making better decisions.

I participated in harder tennis lessons and tennis competition which has grown the new sporty side of me. This resulted in me getting significantly more grazes and bruises, but it would never stop me. I also started playing table tennis, which I’m very competitive and passionate about. Despite this, I still rarely do well in athletic competitions.

I also started playing the violin, and though I am passionate about it now, I will have to work hard to get to a higher level, and stay passionate through the learning process.

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11 wonderful years, and here I am now. An academic child, passionate for creativity in the arts and music, and to an extent, sporty as well. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for new opportunities, surprising events, and the people I’ve been surrounded with that have supported me every step of the way.

My life is a tree.

It starts off as a small root in the ground, almost insignificant.

However, with care and support, the seed can grow.

The tree adapts to the environment, always changing with the seasons.

Leaves grow and fall, each playing a small part in the tree’s life.

It will eventually grow strong and proud,

Yet in the soil, you can find the seed, the origin,

the part that if hadn’t been nurtured, the entire tree wouldn’t be there at all.