SENIOR PORTFOLIO SPEECH- AARON BENDETT

There is two kinds of people in this world- people who spark innovation
and make magic happen and people who stand by and watch it unravel.
With a polished and chiseled edge, I now as a graduating senior at TPHS
fall into the category of people who spark innovation and make magic
happen through one of my fondest hobbies. If Torrey Pines roared any
engine to life, it was fueled though my exposure to the craft to unique
resources found in auto electives. With it came a newfound sense of
identity, a niche, a sense of belonging and family in the very craft.

The first day I walked into my first auto elective my junior year, I was
mesmerized by the possibilities of a classroom with no bounds to my
raw potential. All these moving parts coming together to form a bigger
picture, as Mr. Neubauer went on about all the bits and pieces of what
we would take from the auto elective. When in reality, it was much more
than that that I would take home from it. The supportive faculty I got
from my mentor, Mr. Neubauer was one I didn’t see coming. Down the
line he even came to watch me race, another hobbie I hold dear.
Nourishing my tactile learning style, I found and built a home in these
additions to my academic agenda, it gave me something to look forward
to, a hype that kept the stationary days rolling. A newfound sense of
identity, my discoveries gave birth to a drive I didn’t know i had, the
wheels in my head got turning. After so much time in the darkness, with
difficulty in the academic reign, I found a place where I knew who I
wanted to be, and even though I wasn’t there yet, I would be with
enough effort and continuous trial and error. Each trial testimony to my
growth, and tuning in to my true identity- a creator.

I never could have foreseen the niche I would find in in the hours spent
in shop, the close knit connections with my peers and above all, the
sensei of the whole operation, Mr. Neubauer. This shared era of
exploration and experimentation was that more more transforming to
our evolution as we all relyed on one another to thrive and discover in
each other’s company, reaching a common goal of innovation down the
line. We were here to makes mistakes and create masterpieces from
them, the safety net we found in one another, gave us drive to build not
only our craft, but our character. Through the common connection we
shared, in taking auto shop, my former and present circle, grew in unity
beyond comprehension. From managing our typical school workload, to
transitioning to working on each others vehicles while messing around,
another frontier emerged. Trips to the desert and an assortment of
adventures waited at every corner creating countless opportunities for
our calloused, working hands to work and grow as a collective.
When I walked through the doors of TPHS, i was a shy teenager with low
self confidence- lost, looking for a sense of direction. Thanks to the
influence of all my teachers, but above all the experiences i've shared
with my friends, I’ve tuned into my true potential. An upcoming,
innovative mover and shaker. From someone who used to stray away
from where the magic happened and watched it unravel, I know I am
now a part of that magic, which blows my mind. From working hard to fix
a moped in auto, struggling with a ap econ test, to powersliding a truck
in the desert, and road tripping to Vegas, I depend not only my
relationships with my best company, but on my growing identity.

I used to always afraid to take the initiative. I was afraid of myself, and
as a result doubted my own decisions. Thanks my time spent at TPHS
and in auto shop, my credo has changed from “wait and see” to “take
action and change”. I've gone from a meek young onlooker to one that
can make decisions for himself with his best foot forward. I've also
learned how to treat others with respect, but respect myself enough to
not allow them to walk all over me. My newfound awareness is that
through this exposure I found myself, access to a world I didn’t know
existed, and I found equilibrium.

Auto shop helped me establish that everyone is built differently, and in

order to understand and work with machinery, as with humans, you
must consider all components, and how all of them must find balance in
order to function. Everything has an origin and in order to fully
understand one’s own humanity sometimes you have take everything
apart, reevaluate and rebuild it. If auto at TPHS taught me anything about life, is
to follow your instincts and don't let others decide your future for you. A car without a
driver will crash into a wall, you must be your own driver and take the wheel for yourself
if you want to get where you're going.
Thank you.