I am…

 

    My name is Charlie Penn and I am the daughter of Charles and Frances Penn. I have one younger sister named Alexis who is 15. I am seventeen and currently a senior at Hanover-Horton High School. When I leave Hanover-Horton, I will continue my education at Adrian College where I plan to study music.

 

     I have been raised on a small farm where we’ve always had many different animals. I have been blessed enough to own two horses since I was seven and have shown them competitively since I was 13. I have two passions, showing horses and music. My uncle taught me how to play guitar when I was young and that opened a whole new door for me. Since I was young I always loved singing and once I understood the guitar well enough I began to write my own songs. I also participated in choir all through middle school and into high school where my sophomore year I made it into the Show Choir, a select advanced group of singers. I have spent most of my high school career singing in talent shows, at spring and Christmas concerts with the choir, and at the annual Jazz Bash with the Show Choir. But in the summer time almost every weekend is occupied by a horse show. I have showed at the Jackson County Fair and the State 4-H horse show for the past two years and have worked very hard to become the rider I am today.

 

     I am a very driven person. I strive to achieve my goals both academically and in other activities that I participate in. For example, I took Advanced Chemistry a year early and also participated in the Cedarville University Music Showcase both as a sophomore and a junior.

Recently in a personality test I was identified as being a perfectionist. This shows in many of the things I do such as academics but I consider it a good thing! This helps me strive to be the best that I can be! Also in that personality test I was identified as an INTJ. The “I” stands for

introverted, which is true! The “N” stands for intuitive, which relates back to how hard I work and how much I care about academics. The “T” stands for thinking which I agree with very much because I like to think about things and have them planned out before I do anything. I am very good at problem solving and thinking things through in order to get the best possible outcome. Lastly, the “J” stands for Judging. I believe this is true because of how I judge people on how hard they work on projects; basically, I judge people on their work ethic. I like to work with other people but I want others to work just as hard as I am so that we can collectively create a good final project.

 

    Throughout High School I have maintained an accumulated G.P.A of 3.8 and received almost all A’s with a few B’s here and there. I scored a 24 on the ACT the first time I took it and then scored a 26 the second time. This shows my mental strengths in discipline and academics. I did not want to take the ACT a second time but I knew that it would be beneficial to me. Now as I am looking into colleges I am happy that I retook it and scored higher. Throughout my life I have been faced with many challenges such as the fire that burnt down my home last year. But these challenges have only made me stronger and I know that as long as I persevere and have faith that things will be okay I will always make it through. I am a strong person and I know how to deal with the curves that life has to offer. I am something of a realist one of my friends once told me to, “Hope for the best but expect the worst.” I agree with that wholeheartedly because it helps me keep things in perspective and not create a false hope. I like to look at the reality of things and not let my imagination turn them into something they are not.

 

    I want to pursue a career in music and though I know it will be incredibly difficult to make it through college I know that it will be worth it. I will be able to wake up every morning

and love the job I’m going to. One of my favorite quotes is, “Don’t let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big”. I won’t let anyone discourage me away from music because they aren’t the ones walking in my shoes only I can be the judge of whether or not it is worth pursuing.