Profile by david lim

Alyssa

Abe 2

Nearing the end of summer, while most students have just returned to school for the new year, Alyssa Abe has chosen to trade it in for a week long camping trip. After setting up camp and fetching

ity, and the perfect spot to unearth a song, just hidden beneath a surface of ingenuity. However, this is not just a memorable trip to the forest; it is a week long orientation for the new

and further their talents.

A former student of Los Altos High School for two years, she soon realized she lacked an environment that adhered to her needs and decided to switch over to Waldorf. As a school that primarily focuses a lot less on technology and much more on the arts, it was a perfect fit for an aspiring instrumentalist and singer, allowing her to explore music and discover herself. Waldorf prides itself in teaching their students: “Through increasingly sophisticated involvement with a wide variety of arts such as drama, instrumental and choral music, painting, weaving, woodworking and stone carving, high school students develop a broad range of proficiencies, while increasing self-awareness and aesthetic sensibilities. Every creation bears the stamp of individuality and expresses the student’s interaction with the world�

(Waldorf of the Peninsula). An ideology that school year. is radically different from her guitar, she wanders Abe is a student at an althe one at Los Altos High through the forest before ternative school, known as School, which, like most settling on a soft patch of Waldorf School of the Pen- public schools, focuses on dirt. Surrounded by the insula, a haven for students grades and performance trees and the sky, it is a like her who wish to exon standardized testings. place of solitude and seren- plore their creative minds Although there are un12 1

doubtedly various other programs for exploring the arts at other schools, the environment is nonetheless still very stressful and centralized, for the most part, on academics. It seems to be an ideal setting for some students, but a discouraging and negative influence on others. Alyssa states that “Los Altos was holding down who I am.”

Alyssa Abe is a 17 year old California native

false signs. However, her decision to have a change of pace led her to enroll in Waldorf, where she realized her desires and more importantly, discovered herself. A Waldorf teacher explains, “When children relate what they learn to their own experience, they are interested and alive, and what they learn becomes their own. Waldorf schools are designed to foster this kind of learning”

Like Alyssa, she found it much more fulfilling and was also able to spend more time creating and exploring art.

Hanging off the edge of her bed, Alyssa has her guitar propped up on her knee as she cultivates a fresh slice of inspiration, drawn from the quaint objects and psychedelic posters plastered around her room. Ever since she has begun attending Wal-

“They says ‘God is Love’ I hear ‘Love is God’” who has been surrounded by music and the arts ever since she was born. Starting from the mere age of 6, she was already taking up the guitar, piano and various other instruments.

Subject to a radically different environment at Los Altos High School, she struggled to find who she was and what she really wanted to do. An environment as diverse and confusing as nearly two thousand students packed into a school evidently faired a lot of

(Waldorf Education: An Introduction). With more hands-on and engaging activities and classes, not only do the students retain what they learn, but utilize it further, tapping into their true potential. However, this did not just help Alyssa to inspire herself.

A longtime friend was also having issues attending the public school, bothered specifically by the severely underfunded art programs, and convinced her to switch over to Waldorf.

dorf, she has spent a large portion of her free time immersing herself in discovering and creating music, rather than scrambling to finish her English paper.

Inspired by artists like Joanna Newsom, all of whom are independent and daring enough to explore beyond the limits of recycled mainstream rhythms, Alyssa strives to create her own unique sound and share it with others throughout the community. Although currently she is not very well 22

known, her various performances at several open mics and shows have been well received with lots of positive feedback. She is aware of the fact that because of how different her music is, not everyone can appreciate it. However, everyone is able to appreciate the drive and effort she puts into her craft.

Ranging from vocals to guitar to the piano, her talents have allowed her music to reach new heights. Recently, she has even shown interest in learning more unorthodox instruments like the harp and the lyre in order introduce yet another different style of sound.

Ever since Alyssa has switched over to Waldorf, a lot of how she lived has changed dramatically.

Rather than wasting time on short term stimulation like television, she has chosen instead to spend her free time crafting her music. Diverging from main-

stream music, she writes music as way not only to explore her passion but even more so as an outlet to search for who she is. A large contributor to this is how Waldorf’s assignments and activities allow her to put artistic talents in her schoolwork as

work. Waldorf’s reluctance to give grades for classes, other than those which are mandatory for classes, leads students to motivate themselves rather than to be prompted by the school.

Now motivated by herself, on weekends Alyssa often goes hiking or to other secluded areas to work on her music. With a clear focus of her life on music, it has allowed her to grow in such a way that she did not expect was possible.

Ultimately, Waldorf is working towards solving the problem: “How can we help pupils find meaning in their lives?” (Waldorf an Education). Thanks to the school, Alyssa has discovered her own route to happiness: her love and passion for music.

Just as Alyssa helped her friend to make the switch to Waldorf, she is working towards helping other students who might not be aware of just how much their environment

I was trapped by the chains of Society.

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well.

As a school that tries to limit their dependence on technology, most essays and other writing projects are done in notebooks that are personalized and beautified by the students, who take a lot of pride in their

Just as Alyssa helped her friend to make the switch to Waldorf, she is working towards helping other students who might not be aware of just how much their environment is taking a toll on them, to make the change. This includes those who are passionate in art, music or even those who need more help finding meaning in their lives. Alyssa herself plans to keep working in music and continue to perform and share her sound with others. Nonetheless, she wishes to share the notion that others do not have to be chained down by society’s expectations of them, and rather, should discover their own route to happiness. “Society doesn’t con-

trol us, unless we give it permission.”

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