Graduate Highlight: Julia

"My life is like a building. It is strong and tall in spirit. Villa di Maria has helped me construct myself into who I am today, and who I will be tomorrow."Julia's speech was full of gratitude and the comparison of her life so far to act of building a structure. Enjoy the full speech below!My early years in school prepared the foundation for my structure and helped me get ready for hard things to happen. When I started preschool, I didn’t know much, but I could tie shoes pretty well. Whenever someone else was walking around with an untied shoe, I tied it for them. So tying bows was my favorite. While I do not tie shoes too often now, helping others is still one of my greatest skills. Even though I was helpful, I was not always nice. (“Hey Kalyn, I’m telling a story about us now”.) When I was about 3 years old, I bit my sister; she was mad at me, but she knew I was young. Now, I have learned how to express myself in other ways than biting, which helps me organize my ideas clearly to make things happen.On to the walls of my building… to 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. My favorite subject in school was math because I understood math quickly. Being home schooled for half of 1st grade and all of 2nd and 3rd grade, my sister and I would go to the zoo to see the animals, which I enjoyed. I learned to be patient because everywhere we went, I would always ask “Are we there yet?” over and over until we got there. Because I’ve learned to be patient, I have uncovered that I enjoy and am patient with younger children. Patience will help me be respectful of others and to let life happen the way it wants to go. And now I’m to the roof of my structure… I have to be careful for falling objects.  We have come to 4th, 5th and 6th grade. My favorite work these 3 years was work with Binomials; they were my favorite lessons because they were super fun and a used great materials. Speaking of materials, Montessori materials are structurally balanced for each person, for each person can work at their own pace. My building is strong because my materials have been exactly what I need, for me. Thank you to the fellow sixth years I have learned so much from you guys and girls.  And now we are all looking back to the blueprints of my life. I want to give a shout out to the teachers. Thank you for letting me come to this fabulous school; you helped me so much with all you have done. And my mom and dad; you have taught me almost everything I know, how to see the world through my own eyes. You have taught me there is no stopping point and to be the best I can be. Also, thank you to my grandparents; you have helped me through hard times to when I was three days old and I stopped breathing. You stayed with me in the NICU. And last but not least, thank you to my sister; you taught me how to be crazy like you, how to face my fears and never give up. Thank you all for listening to the story of my life.