Textify: The Power of Text by Andrea

Textify: The Power of Text by Andrea - December 2014 Scholarship Essay

Education has not only given me knowledge of math formulas and the Revolutionary War, and has made me the person that I am today. It has given me the opportunity to be void of ignorance and examine different cultures and real world problems. The International Baccalaureate program at my school has broadened my view of the world and has made me realize that I am just one, very small, part of a huge cultural melting pot.

Through novels likes Chronicle of a Death Foretold, I have learned to appreciate and analyze the cultural differences in Columbia compared to the United States. I have been exposed to their societal expectations, beliefs, and customs. Not only have I learned about Columbia, I have also been introduced to the fascinating cultures of countries like Spain, Ireland, Africa, and England. My experience in studying these cultures closely has made me a much more worldly person.

Education has also taught me the importance of discipline. I have figured out through trial and error that copious notes, studying, and religious reading will do you much better in the end than procrastination, scribbled notebooks, and SparkNotes. As a student, you get what you put into it. If you want an A, then you do A type work with no shortcuts.

A conversation about a story in the collection by James Joyce titled Dubliners, often leads us to much bigger issues past and present. Suddenly, we would end up discussing Catholicism and corruption of the church before before and now. Years of these IB conversations, have shown me how everything is so much bigger than it seems. You have to look at the bigger picture and truly analyze everything going on around you instead of being ignorant to it. I have realized over the years that my teachers truly want to hear what we have to say and it has allowed me to be able to voice my opinions well and eloquently.

Education has shaped who I am by conditioning me to be a prominent part of society. It has given me the tools that I need to succeed not only in college, but also as part of a group of intellectuals. I have been able to understand and accept other cultures and beliefs, making me a worldly person who is able to converse with many different people. It has also given me the chance to perfect my discipline that allows me to be extremely personally motivated and the confidence to have opinions and have the ability to elaborate upon them. Although it has not been easy, education has given me character, and even if I do not remember the Pythagorean Theorem in twenty years, I will always have the virtues that it has instilled in me.