Positively on the Right Track

Major League Baseball player Matt Kemp said, “When you think positive, good things happen.” Having a positive outlook on life is one of those things that can be as natural to some folks as breathing, and that couldn’t be more true for Newton Community High School Senior Alli Kirts. The power of positive thinking seems to be a skill that Alli already has down to an art. Throughout our interview, positivity radiated from her bright smile, washing over you like a wave on the sandy shore, instantly making you smile in return.

By Erica Loos

This positive, can-do attitude has paid off for Alli as this year she is one of nine seniors at Newton to earn the honor of being called an Illinois State Scholar. When asked what this honor meant to her, she said, “Well, I mean, it’s a great accomplishment. We all worked really hard for it. We always try to do our best on stuff, so it’s nice to be noticed for it. … And we’re all proud of each other for it.” Alli plans to keep her nose to the grindstone this fall at Olney Central College, before eventually heading to Eastern Illinois University in pursuit of her desire to become an elementary school teacher.

A motto I live by is just give everything 110%.

Making a difference in the world, be it large or small, is something that is very important to Alli. “I want to be recognized as a great teacher. Kind of a motto I live by is just give everything 110%, you know, and if I could rub that off on some students that I teach, [or] friends, [or] relation, whatever. That’d be awesome, to just show people to give 110%. And also to just be positive about things. There’s so much negativity, and being positive is a great trait to have,” she said.

Alli’s feels she learned how to be positive at home, saying, “My parents are pretty positive people,” adding that this positivity is then reinforced by her peers, “And I surround myself with good friends and … we all like to support each other and we like to have fun and just be happy for each other.” Alli credits her mother, who has worked in a school for many years as a speech pathologist and assisting students with special needs, and extended family of several aunts and cousins, who are teachers, with inspiring her path to become an educator.

Change can be exciting, anticipating the new chapters of our lives as we begin to get closer to them, while at the same time causing a little anxiety to creep in at the prospect of something completely new on the horizon. As a high school senior on the brink of graduation, this is a feeling to which Alli can relate. “I mean, I’m kind of a nervous person. So I’m definitely nervous to change from not being in high school anymore. But I’m excited, and I know that, I mean, I’ve accomplished some good things [and] I know I can definitely do what I desire to do if I just work hard at it,” she said.

Coming in the form of a set-back, change can also teach us something about ourselves that we might otherwise have never picked up on. Alli spoke with a wisdom beyond her years on the topic of set-backs, saying, “Everyone has to experience failure. And, I guess, just the way you come back from it is more important. Whether you’re going to let it knock you down, or if you’re going to take it as a lesson and keep going.”

As it turns out, her wisdom came from a place of personal experience. She faced a challenging setback in her sophomore year when she suffered a bad knee injury while playing volleyball. “And it was tough for me to overcome that. And it just kind of made me realize that sports are not everything. … I don’t need to get so worked up over sports, if there’s a rough game or something, and that you just need to focus on having fun and not worrying,” she said. After the knee injury, Alli realized that she wasn’t as dedicated to volleyball as she is to softball, and the time away from the sport helped her decide that, rather than splitting focus between two sports, she would instead focus solely on softball, the sport she loved.

When asked if she was able to sit down and chat with her younger self, to share a few words of advice, Alli again spoke with wisdom, offering, “I’d say just enjoy the time, because it’s definitely flown by. It’s crazy to think that I’m a senior already, and now I’m going to be starting a big step in my life. So I’d say, just slow down and not wish the time away.”