Why I Want To Go To College by Alyssa

Why I Want To Go To College by Alyssa - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

There are many different reasons why I want to go to college. I could go on to talk about how much I care about learning and how much my education means to me. I could go on to discuss the adventure of going out on my own and discovering the world. These, however, are only the aspects of college that I am excited for the short term. They failed to account for the future. They say that college opens up countless opportunities for your future, but what I would like to discuss is the future of others. I don't plan on becoming a medical doctor or a lawyer. I won't be saving lives or making lots of money, but I will be making a difference. It is my plan to major in history and become a teacher of history. My impact on the future will very likely be small, but it will be there nonetheless. I know this because I have experienced firsthand what teachers do for us.

I've had teachers good and bad throughout my life. First and foremost, I would like to discuss the good. Without the good teachers that I've had throughout my life I would not be where I am today. I wouldn't have my 4.0 GPA, I wouldn't care to learn, and frankly I would be lost. There have been many cases in which teachers have been mentors in my life when I was struggling and floating around the abyss. I say I do not know where I would be today, but I also don't know if I would be here today. I've struggled with my mental health like many of my peers have, it is something that is all too common to high school students in recent years, but I found solace in many of my teachers. They were there when I felt no one else was, or at least when I felt like I couldn't go to anyone else. Sometimes it's hard to open up to the people closest to us about what we're going through, but for some reason I was able to trust my teachers. While I never fully told them what I was going through, I could tell that they understood just by the way that I was acting, and they were always there. It was through small acts that they showed that they cared and made me feel as though I was worth living and that I could do exceptional things with my life. I hope to never have students struggling as much as I did but at the same time, I know that should this ever occur I will be there for my students and help them get through whatever they are going through. Mental health is extremely important, and teachers are excellent advocates for it. I could go on to be a psychologist but that is not where my talents lie, which is what leads to the bad teachers that I've had throughout my life.

As I stated before I've had teachers good and bad. To say the least, the bad teachers weren't necessarily bad people, they just didn't teach or didn't know how to. As I grew older, I became a person who was extremely controlling over my grades, they were incredibly important to me. In the situations where I had teachers who wouldn't teach or didn't know how to, I was incredibly distraught. I did however eventually figure out how to self-teach myself the content and maintain my straight A's. This of course could never be the case for everyone. Some people really need that hands-on experience where there is a teacher actually showing them what to do step by step, without it they have no idea what's going on. In many cases my peers struggled because they did not have this from some of our “bad” teachers. I didn't want to stand by and watch them struggle. For me to have been distraught but know how to teach myself the work must have spoken measures for my other classmates who had no idea where to start. Most of my classes were Advanced classes so of course these kids cared, but many of them were lost. While I didn't help an extensive number of people, I did help who I could when I saw they were struggling. I created study guides, quizzed students, taught content step by step, and helped my peers with class work they were struggling with. I learned I was good at teaching and that it was my calling. I watched my peers progress in something that they previously were struggling with. I saw their eyes spark with joy once they understood the work, and it made my world. I want to go to college because I will be getting the education that I need to become a teacher. I want to go to college because it will help me live the rest of my life knowing I am helping others.