As an eighth-grader from North Carolina, I was told that I was going to Animas. If it were up to me I may have chosen DHS. The Colorado culture and more specifically the very unique culture at Animas came as a shock to me. Authority was routinely challenged and the challenge was heeded by the 'authority'. Animas turned my ideas of who has the power in a school on its head. My teachers and friends showed me that it is the student who is the important party- that he decides what interests him. It is then the role of his peers and mentors to guide, encourage, and enlighten him along the way. I kept choosing Animas because of this philosophy which is so natural but apparently lost to the educational institutions of today.

 

I kept choosing Animas because I can go in-depth on a topic in my own way- different from any of my peers and maybe from anyone else in the world. I kept choosing Animas because I got to showcase these creations to the community and receive real-world feedback. I had to ask myself 'does my project have relevance? and to whom?' I strive to design meaningful projects and my teachers are always asking me 'why is this important to you? how might this be important to the world? and finally who needs to know and/or what can you actionably do?' This line of thinking and others taught at Animas make me feel like I am being prepared for a wide range of careers- and just life in general- because developing these critical thinking nets will be essential in an automated world.

 

The biggest reason I keep choosing Animas every day is the relationships I have with my teachers and friends. I have felt such love, appreciation, and awe for the people at Animas; I know that whatever I am going through and that I can always find safety, support, and guidance there. There is also such an element of fun at Animas; we dress up and enact skits, we make-up dances, we have inside jokes and aren't afraid to dole out a ribbing. Every individual and the culture we make up is why I will keep choosing Animas every day.