Without a doubt attending North Carolina Governor 's School West has had the greatest impact on my thinking. I was privileged to join a few hundred of the brightest minds of my age in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a six week experience away from outside influence. This immersion was especially life altering because of how open-minded everyone was to new perspectives. This truly created an environment of learning and expression in addition to being a major liberation from my everyday life as I had to be truly independent while on Salem College’s campus. I attended as a choral ensemble student, but was able to experience so much more in addition to choir. The goal of Governor 's School is to equip the brightest young minds in North …show more content…
The people I met at Governor 's school played two distinct roles. They either affirmed my beliefs, or introduced me to new ideas that I adopted. There was never any mean conflict. Honestly, I cannot recall a negative disagreement I had while at Governor’s School. While they were plenty of disagreements, they were met with attentive ears and amiable debaters. The level of respect shown between peers and also between the staff and students was unlike any educational setting I had previously been exposed to. Additionally, I attended two or three seminars daily that invited both staff and guest speakers to introduce new topics and ways of life. I was introduced to topics such as knot theory, programming, feminism, higher dimensions, the history of waste disposal, game theory, general relativity, and string theory. I was able to interact with adults from all walks of life. Philosophy was another major component of governor 's school curriculum. I discussed the allegory of the cave, do I see the same colors as you, and are numbers (and math) invented or discovered. I have found that this experience has changed and shaped how I go about my senior year of high school. I approach classes differently and interact with other people in new ways. My critical thinking skills have never been as perceptive or