One Class: Changed Perspective by Aitana

One Class: Changed Perspective by Aitana - July 2021 Scholarship Essay

Just one reminder of a crucial life lesson changed my mindset. The other juniors and I had been about five units deep into my Honors US History curriculum when I acknowledged that the class seemed to become more rigorous as the days passed by and the workload took over my life. The students and I would have to read five articles in two days, but also write essays on the article and study for an exam the following day. Everyday we felt exhausted and felt more and more occupied with our arduous work, to the point that engaging in outdoor activities was rarely a possibility.

However, in the middle of the school year, all the circumstances were altered. One particular morning, my instructor looked at the sea of juniors in his class and started applauding. My teacher informed us that he had been pushing us with assignments in the past so that later he would be able to be lenient with our work. He also proclaimed that he noticed how the amount of work assigned not only took a toll on our personal health and wellness, but limited our other activities. He explained that this outcome fueled his ideology that school isn't the biggest priority.

This announcement caught all of the students in my class off guard, including myself. How was he so casual about the importance of school when his career was centralized around it? Shouldn't school as a priority be emphasized because success comes from education? There was a stunned silence in my class as the teacher waited for his words to sink in as he delivered his unexpected statement.

To clarify his words, my teacher explained that certainly hard work was important, but you only live your particular lifestyle once and it should be taken advantage of. Spending all your time completing assignments makes your personality and life dull when your life is just centered around work, especially if you get into this mindset as high school teens, he explained. He noted that as the education level became higher, there would be less free time; you're only young once so that's when life should be lived to its fullest extent instead of being swamped in stress. This is why, he explained conclusively, he lessened the amount of assignments given and would put larger, less frequent exams on Mondays, so that we would have more time to study for exams, while having more leisure time throughout the rest of the week.

This message was initially shocking because these words were being preached from an instructor who for years upheld the reputation of being strict and rarely accommodating, so hearing his change in heart was momentous. His message let me experience a big reality check: if I have all my life to get great grades and secure promotions through my efforts, then I should take advantage of the freedom I do have!

My instructor's passionate claim influenced me to take action in my own life. I didn't want to reflect back onto my life in the future and feel a wave of sadness rush over me as I acknowledged I had just spent my whole life working. So, during that year, I made changes to my life. I accepted an ambassador role in my medical club, which I might've been hesitant in the past about due to a lack of time, so that I could speak with health professionals and create care packages for the needy. I additionally had the spark to not only make time to rejoin my school's tennis team, but to play a bigger role as a tennis captain. I wanted to take advantage as many possibilities as I could while I was young in case these opportunities wouldn't be present further down the road when I had to be more career-oriented; the way I've altered my life is all because of one class morning reminder, and I couldn't be more thankful.