After transitioning to an English-speaking high school from a French immersion program in middle school, freshman Azalea Williams says she is exploring new interests and creating a positive social life for herself in the new school year. Williams attended Le Monde French Immersion Public Charter School in Portland from kindergarten to eighth grade and learned to speak French fluently.
“We had two French classes,” said Williams. “One was just a regular [French class] and one was oral. There’d be some classes where it’d be half in English, half in French [like math]. We had English and science in English.”
Williams has found the transition from Le Monde to Lincoln smooth, and she has made new goals around socializing for the school year.
“I just think [I’ll try] to be the best version of myself and make new friends because I’m kind of an introvert, so it’s a little hard to come up to people. [I’m also nervous about] my grades,” said Williams.
Williams’ passions include solving jigsaw puzzles, including some with up to 2,000 pieces, and listening to music.
“I love music. I listen to a variety. I like k-pop, pop and indie,” she said. “I really love Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, BLACKPINK and Gracie Abrams. I actually went to her concert the other night. It was amazing and I loved it so much.”
In addition to music, Williams enjoys English because of the literature. One of Williams’ favorite books is “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Leah Johnson.
“I love when we do novel studies because I like to read books and see different authors and different writing techniques,” Williams said.
When life gets difficult socially and academically, Williams finds comfort in perspective.
“One thing I think a lot, especially if I’m in a hard time, is nothing is permanent. It will move on and it won’t be [the same] forever.”
