Forging a Path by Angela

Forging a Path by Angela - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

One of the hardest things to do is to begin something, and that pressure is exponentially increased when the situation entails many different social and academic pressures. Beginning high school seems daunting to the majority of freshmen, but freshmen would do much better if they went in with already set goals. Since many students don’t decide their career or life goal until later years of schooling, freshmen don’t need to feel pressured to make their goals specific to a career but instead focus on things that would make them a better student, person, and/or athlete depending on what they want to focus on, which will later help them develop and adapt better to a career path.

Since high school is a foreign land to incoming freshmen, it’s easy to be unsure about what to participate in and what to accomplish, but general goals and rules set by the student his/herself will better motivate him/her to stay on track and thus, have an easier and prepared transition into the new world. For instance, planning to stay happy, be organized, and participate actively are some generic but important goals for a high school student to be on track during their academic career. Developing habits early with motivational set goals will be beneficial in the transition period and then in later grades to not get distracted with temptations of things that may be of bad influence. Planning a positive outlook will also create a more practical and more put together state of mind that will help freshmen to take advantage of all things that high school has to offer. Participating actively from the beginning is very important in creating community, integrity, and accountability, but many pass over it because they don’t consider the significance of such activities. Creating goals will help freshmen to look at high school as an adventure rather than a daunting task, and help them to integrate easier and faster into the complex ecosystem of higher education.

High school is difficult and scary to a freshman who has not been faced with the types of pressures that it offers before. However, sticking to ideals that an individual creates for his/herself will definitely keep him/her on the right path throughout high school and into life. High school isn’t the ending, it’s the beginning of an adventure that must be lived through fully to be appreciated. It only happens once in a lifetime, and it shouldn’t be an opportunity wasted.