Kiran McWilliams

5/2/22
Period 3

May Letter
Dear Kiran,
This school year I chose three main ERWC goals that I wanted to focus on throughout the year
that I may have struggled with in the past or wanted to improve on. These three goals were:
● Read intentionally for a variety of purposes, including to learn content, to understand a
variety of perspectives, to critique, and to learn writer’s craft
● Engage in intellectual conversations about important issues, including personal, societal,
and academic
● Be an inquisitive, motivated, self-directed learner
This process of goal setting and reflecting has affected the way I look at things as a learner.
When reading or doing assignments, I now think deeper about the information I’m given by
looking at it from different perspectives and I make sure to put effort into all of my work. What
I’ve learned about myself as a person, is that when I put myself out more or step up to take on a
role that I may be hesitant of doing, I always end up enjoying it and am so glad that I took the
risk. I also learned that I can do almost anything if I put my mind to it and work hard enough for
it. As a student I have learned that I can actually be good at a subject I never thought I would be
good at because I put in the effort and time to really understand the material. I also learned that I
work better in libraries/coffee shops than I do at home because of the distractions.

There are many qualities/characteristics that make me who I am today and they continuously
change as I mature and get older. Some hopes and goals I have are being happy, motivated, more
social, and creating healthy habits and routines. However, sometimes I think about fears, and my
main fears are losing close friends, being alone, and growing up. Two of the main problems I
struggled with this year were overthinking and my social anxiety. Sometimes when I had a
conversation with someone or something embarrassing would happen I would overthink and
replay the situation over and over in my head instead of just forgetting about it. My social
anxiety made it difficult for me to talk to new people and speak in public, but with practice I
have slowly been getting better at it. With all the problems and negatives that I dealt with, I also
had many joys which included being around friends and family, traveling, running, reading,
listening to music, and doing anything outside.

I have many favorite things ranging from colors to TV shows to music and artists, which also
make me who I am. Currently, my favorite colors are sage green and any shade of pink and my
favorite books are any by Colleen Hoover. I listen to music all the time and I like almost all
genres. My favorite artists are Billie Eilish, The Neighbourhood, Cage the Elephant, Kanye
West, Adele, Jason Aldean, Morgan Wallen, and lots more. Some Netflix shows I enjoy are The
Vampire Diaries, Stranger Things, Cheer, Outer banks, and On My Block. My favorite foods are
acai bowls, Italian food, salmon, sandwiches, coffee cake, and banana bread.

I have many goals and hopes for my future and I am curious to see where I end up and what I
end up doing. I am most looking forward to college and running cross country and track at a
collegiate level. I am also looking forward to living in a new area and experiencing new things.
As of now, I want to major in kinesiology and after college go to PT school to become a physical
therapist. My plans after college are to move to another state (most likely Arizona), find a job,
buy a house, get married, have kids, and continue fitness and running to stay healthy. I also want
to travel a lot to different states and countries. Although I’m excited for the future, there are
some things I’m scared of/dreading such as being on my own and not being able to live with or
see my parents and sister everyday, having to adjust to new people and a new town, and later
having to pay bills, taxes, and everything else I own. For the world, I hope that everyone comes
together more and everything isn’t revolved around politics as much.

One of the biggest things I’ve gained this year is my amazing friends. Over the summer my best
friend moved away and I had no idea who I was going to hang out with. I was somewhat friends
with my now best friend Kira Logan and I started to hang around her more. She introduced me to
all of her friends and they were some of the nicest, most welcoming people I had ever met.
Throughout the year we grew closer and although we had many differences, we also had a lot in
common. They all did theater so I was able to learn more about it and see a lot of behind the
scenes of plays, especially during lunch. Recently, we all went to prom together, Santa Cruz for
senior weekend, and threw one of our friends Gabrielle a surprise birthday party. Whenever I’m
around these girls I always have the best time. They are all so funny, kind, smart, and I admire
them so much. I am so thankful for them and I can’t imagine my life without them.

Before I turn 50, there are many things on my bucket list that I want to complete. My top ten
things being:
1. Travel to 5 different countries (1 being Greece)
2. Learn how to surf
3. Get a small meaningful tattoo
4. Cliff jump into the ocean
5. Parasail
6. Crowd surf
7. Get VIP or pit at a concert
8. Go to Coachella
9. Start my own business
10. Buy my dream car
Overall, I have grown immensely over this past year and I will continue to grow. My hobbies,
traits, thoughts, and goals are always changing and it’s interesting to see how different I was at
the beginning of the year compared to now. No matter what struggles I faced this year I was able
to push through and I know I will continue to do the same in the future.

Best wishes,
Kiran McWilliams