Through his life experiences, Will Park (12) has come to certain realizations and developed his own ideology on how to approach life.

“Leave no regrets,” Will said. “For me, in life for the past couple years I’ve always done things every year, but it doesn’t seem to hold the expectation that I hold it up to, so I always regret not being able to go out enough, spend enough time with family.”

Will places a strong emphasis on family, something that he views a fundamental to success. He explains quote that has had a lot of impact in shaping his views.

“J Cole said this during an interview with a radio broadcast host: ‘In life we are always trying to set the expectation or be successful and we’re always in a place where we have to do better to get this and that seems like the main goal in life.’ I’ve got this dream of becoming a something and I want to be successful and I’m just going to keep going toward that dream, but in reality even though that makes you happy, in the end you gotta realize that there are people in your life. You got a family, and that’s the only thing you should hold on to,” Will said. “I know those words are true because in my life, my family has been through a lot so being able to hear that it really reflected on my life and made me think about the things that are important. In life, I do have my own dreams and goals of success, but you can only get to those points in your life through family, friends and mentors in your life. That’s how I try to focus on my life now, think about the people who have been around me, think about the people that have affected me, and that’s just my life goal. Always remember the people that you’re surrounded by, because it will mean a lot to you in the end.”

Will’s definition of success is also different from many other people’s.

“Success in the end really isn’t all about being the best at something or achieving something, but success is when in life, when you find that purpose you have or hold on to, that’s when you are really successful,” Will said. “Then you really have something to hold onto and keep with you forever, and you’re not only chasing dreams, its already there with you.”

A lot of his perspectives have been shaped through his academic career, specifically one teacher had a significant impact on him.

“My teacher from middle school, she is the one that really pushed me in my education, because in 7th and 8th grade, I wasn’t the best student, and that’s when my life started to take a turn in the road and started to become very bumpy,” Will said. “But every time I went into her class, she was the one that really motivated me to be the best student I could be and the change I want to be.”

One of the biggest forks in the road Will encountered was deciding which school to attend for high school.

“In my mind in 8th grade, I had no idea what private schools were and only had my mind set on Westmont, my local public school,” Will said. “Being able to have the opportunity to come here has been amazing.”

Everyone has down days, and Will’s preferred method of coping would be going to exercise.

“The gym is another one of my happy places, it just makes me happy every time I walk in, because it’s just you and the weights, which are the only things in front of you, Will said. “The main goal is just to lift those weights and I get a sense of motivation.”

Despite all the rush that occurs in life, Will has one goal in how to lead his life.
“Living as a free spirit. That’s a big one,” Will said. “I don’t want to be too worried about everything all the time, and I just want to live life and I don’t want to get caught up in all this drama.“