Hi, I’m Annita and I am currently a senior at Naperville North High School. I have a younger brother and a corgi named Sparky. Being the oldest sibling in my family can be a little nerve racking at times because I’m the first to encounter certain challenges and am under a greater amount of pressure to succeed. Because of that, my life can be a little stressful at times, especially now since I have to balance between college apps and school work. Often times when I’m encountered with such challenges, I always build in escapes. No, I do not dig a secret passage that will lead me to Hawaii from my bedroom, that would be a bliss though. What I mean by escapes is that immerse myself in some of my favorite activities from time to time.

 One of my guiltiest pleasures, aside from chocolate is letter writing. I started exchanging letters with my aunt Annlin earlier this summer. Over the course of writing letters, I’ve found letter writing to be a great way for me to reflect on myself and share my thoughts. On top of that, letter writing has also become a way for me to express my creativity. I can choose from a variety of paper, stamps, envelopes, and  inks to make the letter unique. Adding stickers, drawings, and pictures is also a lot of fun. But the greatest feeling often comes with opening the mailbox and finding a personal letter under the pile of college spam and bills. Receiving a letter makes my day because the physical aspect of it reminds me that I am cared about. 

In addition to letter writing, I have a HUGE  obsession with music. I listen to a variety of genres: rock, pop, rap, classical and latin. Some of my favorite bands and artists include Fleetwood Mac, Billie Eilish, Eminiem, Chopin and the Gypsy Kings. Just as much as I love listening to music, I also love playing music on piano and guitar. I have played piano since I was in kindergarten and my favorite song on piano is the Adagio Cantabile by Beethoven because it’s a song that could never be played twice the same way. In other words, the song always varies depending upon how I feel. Piano has always been a way for me to channel my emotions and relieve me from a lot of stressors in life. Guitar, on the other hand, is something I am still working on. It is much easier to play and all I have to do is pull up a song on ultimate guitar and strum the chords. It’s not only is it fun to play, but it really exercises my mind so I can go back to completing tasks with a fresh mind set.

Lastly, exercise is a significant part of my lifestyle. I do shorei-ryu karate twice a week and  I practice self defense, weapons , katas and sparring. I currently have a brown belt and I am working to earn my black belt next August. In addition to karate I also lift weights and run twice a week. Weight lifting is something I started this summer and it leaves me feeling stronger each day. 

My goals in life as of now is to build myself as a stronger person both mentally and physically. Just as importantly, I’m applying to colleges in hopes of studying a subject of which I am interested in and discovering where my passions lie. With that in mind, I am going to finish senior year on a strong note and I can’t wait to see the journey that lies ahead.