His classmates and teachers have described him as indescribable, interesting, unique, eccentric, fascinating, enigmatic, cynical, funny and well informed. His friend, senior Annabel Gong, affectionately stated, “You would think he would be the most boring person in the world by the way he talks, but he’s actually one of the most interesting people.” Another of his friends, Samia Abbasi said, “There’s never a dull moment with Ariel.” And Ishita Wilson, a senior who has known Ariel since sixth grade, added, “Ariel says what everyone is thinking but what no one else says. We all have an inner Ariel that we hold back, but Ariel is Ariel for everyone.” Ariel Goldblatt is one of those people you really just have to meet. Words cannot describe him, but I will do my utmost to harness and convey the power and spirit of Ariel.

Ariel is a senior here at Wilcox that has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor. He has been accepted to a number of California universities but Ariel was evasive on the subject of his major, claiming to be majoring in Portuguese or Slavic studies. He might want to study computer science according to his friends and teachers. Yet another example how Ariel can be so hilarious and enigmatic at the same time.

Ariel said he will miss high school because, “School is pleasing, and it only lasts until 2:05 and there are only two periods on Thursdays.”  When asked about his favorite classes, he said, “I love French, also English is pleasing. I find pleasure in English.” You might say Ariel enjoys reading as well. He claimed, “I have read a book before. It was good, I would consider reading a book again.” Ariel has an average level of involvement in school activities. He ran cross country his freshman and sophomore year. He is passionate about programming and started the Programming Club, of which he is now president.

Ariel has quite a few interests, hobbies and habits as well. He is passionate about baking, and he is an excellent baker. He bakes many things—cookies, lemon bars, pies, and mini pies. His favorite cookies to bake are snickerdoodles. He makes mini pecan pies that look crispy but somehow maintain an incredible moistness. His lemon bars are to die for. The flavors are inexplicably, perfectly balanced, it’s simply quite amazing.

Ariel also occasionally sees movies. The last movie he saw “in the cinema” was 10 Cloverfield Lane. Ariel also really enjoys listening to music. According to his friends, he knows the lyrics to all the songs on his playlist and can sing the songs to you on command. Currently his favorite song is “Bananaphone” by Raffi, but he’s only a fan of the song, not the artist. He adamantly stated he did not want to talk about Raffi, because he only likes that song. Ariel also likes the Beach Boys and the band Beach House. He has a record player and collects records.

Ariel is emotionally invested in many things that must be mentioned to paint a clearer picture of his personality. He eats lots of broccoli, “like excessively,” friend Jessica Bradley stated. Ariel is also passionate about Ikea.  In his own words, “I think the Ikea Market is the crown jewel of the Ikea complex.” Each day of the week has a specific food designation that goes with the name, like Taco Tuesday, Waffle Wednesday and Thai Thursday. One of his most memorable quotes is, “The sauce has gone rogue!” (I’m sensing a food theme here.) Ariel buys some of his clothes at Costco. What cannot be purchased at Costco, Ariel buys online using his neighbor’s Amazon Prime account. According to his friends, Ariel is obsessed with moisturizer and sunscreen. He sits in the backseat of his mom’s car when she drives him to school and such. Furthermore, Ariel has dual citizenship-he is a citizen of Switzerland and the United States.

Needless to say, Ariel is interesting, unique, enigmatic and great all at the same time. Wilcox will have a void to fill when he graduates. I’ll leave with just one of his quotes, one that really reflects the essence of Ariel, “Absolutely unbelievable.”