“Nobody wants to watch perfection.” – Nick Cage

For freshman Ella Satterthwaite, this quote is a major inspiration in her daily life. Both in school and out of school, it’s a reminder to try new things without the desperate need to be amazing at everything.

Keeping this quote in mind, she is inspired to constantly try new and things and meet new people.

“You should always be trying new things,” Ella said. “And you should always be experimenting and putting yourself out there because if you’re doing things perfectly, keep on doing you I guess, but that’s not for me.”

Ella involves herself in a number of various activities and attempts to learn new skills regularly. She just wrapped up the season for girls JV basketball; while she doesn’t consider herself to be much good at basketball, she participated nonetheless and thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Aside from that, she’s learning the saxophone right now, as well as Chinese. Her interests vary widely, and she doesn’t hold back from trying to learn new skills when she feels called to it. Ella’s interest in Chinese is a result of her desire to someday visit China.

“I just felt this like innate calling to go to China at some point,” Ella said. “So I do hope I wind up there.”

Seeing as she experiences intrigue in a range of subjects, Ella can’t quite put a pin in where she plans to go in the future. However, she for sure knows that she wants to explore new places and meet new people. If nothing else, she’s “a mover and a shaker.”

Her comfortability with imperfection and her love of exploring new ideas and places are only two components of Ella’s overall optimistic and outgoing personality. Above many things, Ella values humanity and her friendships.

“I enjoy being around people,” Ella said. “I think if I’m not around people, I get depressed, and I get my energy from being around people, but at the same time I like being alone too.”

Whenever Ella is around people, she exhibits kind and selfless traits. She routinely puts other people’s problems before her own, always preferring to help a friend solve a problem than focus on something that’s bothering her.

“Whenever my friends have problems, I always try to make sure they’re doing completely okay before I stop talking to them or go and do something else,” Ella said. “So long drawn out conversations are my specialty.”

Having an extroverted personality type benefits Ella in many aspects of her life, including school. She spends all day with people, so being able to interact with them easily and happily helps her enjoy the school day more. Every project and activity is more gratifying for her when she has people to laugh and joke with.

One practice that helps Ella maintain her optimism and enjoyment of life is the practice of drinking Kombucha, a fermented sweet tea beverage.

“Occasionally, I’ll drink a nice cold glass of Kombucha to really settle my vibe,” Ella said. “Just because I think it’s very important. It makes me conscious of who I am as a human being compared to the rest of the universe and my place in [the] universe.”

Most importantly, Ella approaches life with a positive attitude and an eagerness to experience more of the world.

“I just go at it with a smile because that’s the only way you can go at it,” Ella said. “[It] keeps me thinking positive, keeps me happy, [and] keeps me going. [It’s] something to wake up for.”