It was the greatest decision I’ve made in high school so far.
Since freshman year, joining a club has always been a difficulty. Being pulled into a new environment and overwhelmed with the vast amount of clubs made it hard to decide which one was right for me. I didn’t want to join a club on my own either, because without a friend, it would be hard to adjust independently. But I didn’t want to be stuck in club purgatory again. The next year, some of my friends recommended that I join the FV KIWIN’S club, a general community service club. And the first two meetings were absolute chaos. The thing is, there were so many initial members that two classrooms were needed to host the meetings. And even so, each of the classrooms were completely filled up. It was the type of environment that would most likely discourage students from coming back, considering the overwhelming amount of people. But deciding to commit, I paid the $7 membership fee they required and continued going to meetings, as some of my friends did as well.
Over time, I attended more and more volunteer events, immersing myself in KIWIN’S. And the initial popularity died down quite fast. Not only was I with friends, but I made more connections throughout the club as well. Meeting new people has always been uncomfortable for me, but ever since I joined, I was able to make new friends. It was around this time that I wanted to contribute more to the club, and I decided to apply for their Winter Committee. The day I got accepted, one of the board members made a song announcing the new committee members! Through this experience, I was able to help the board with tasks such as making Instagram posts and taking photos at events. Stepping it up a notch, I also chose to apply for a board position a few months later, specifically historian. I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures and I wanted to apply my passion to my club as well.

The day I made board

Lately, it’s been so fun volunteering at events and contributing to KIWIN’S. It’s actually been KIWIN’S that helped me realize that I enjoy volunteering. Ever since my first volunteer experience, I knew that I wanted to stick to this club. I’m also very grateful for the connections it allowed me to make. I remember on the first meeting, I knew practically nobody except a few of my friends. Now, I’m pretty familiar with the majority of the club’s members and I feel comfortable communicating with new members. It was KIWIN’S that actually made my life interesting and productive because without it, I would just be a couch potato at home all day. Moving forward, I plan on maintaining my participation in KIWIN’S throughout my high school years. I want to be able to continue giving back to my community and contribute to a greater cause. And doing this with my friends ties it all together.

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“I’m glad to say that you passed.”
My face lit up like a lightbulb, sitting in the driver’s seat of my car.
Something my parents always pushed me to do was to get my driver’s license. Once I turned 15 ½, I immediately took the permit test. And a few weeks after I turned 16, I was already on the road by myself. Initially, I would always tell my parents that I was too lazy to drive. Yeah I regret that. I’m so grateful for my parents, especially my mom for constantly bugging me to study for the permit test during the months before I took it. I’m sure they were tired of driving me around all the time. My dad would always tell me that he’s not my chauffeur too.
Due to this, I’ve come to realize that driving is such a huge privilege. During my freshman year and first semester of sophomore year, I always had to walk about a mile and half everyday to school, rain or shine. It was so annoying! Being able to drive is SO much easier and more convenient. It only takes me a few minutes to get from home to school, and there’s no need for me to contact anyone after school to pick me up. Plus, I can take friends around (don’t tell my parents). It also makes getting to places in general easier. For example, some of my volunteer events take place early in the morning, in which it would be bothersome to constantly ask my parents to take me. Now, I can take myself to events and return whenever I have to.

my 2007 Lexus IS250

Additionally, I believe that driving a car teaches me some responsibility. Lately, my dad has been teaching me how to replace parts of my car. Just a few weeks ago he assigned me to replace my headlights, as one of them had gone out. Searching up a YouTube video, I opened up the hood and got to work. Overall, I’ve realized that driving and maintaining a car is all part of growth. From now on, this will be what I’ll have to be taking care of.