The Student Jungle by Angelina

The Student Jungle by Angelina - October 2014 Scholarship Essay

Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of going to an ideal high school. The kind of school that movies and television shows always portray. A school like East High from High School Musical or the high school from Grease. A high school where everyone is accepted as who they really are. A high school where everyone worked together as a family. A high school where each person was noticed and each person contributed. Unfortunately, my childhood dream of a perfect high school was shattered once I started ninth grade. Instead of a High School Musical type of high school, I experienced the raw conditions of the student jungle that each of us has to trek through like a tourist on a four year safari jungle tour.

As a young freshman at Whitney High School, I expected only the best. I thought that all teachers would be helpful and all students would be pleasant. But, of course, I set my expectations too high once again. Most of the teachers I encountered were just not focused enough. They were like giraffes; their heads up too high in the sky where they focused too much on feeding themselves rather than nurturing their students throughout the year. Occasionally there were teachers who brought struggling individuals to their attention but the rest of the class was just expected to succeed on their own. I was the majority of the class that was left alone in the rain scurrying to find shelter for myself with each mediocre grade I brought back home. Luckily for me, I used my hard working skills to study extra hard and hire a few tutors along the way. But I do not want anyone else to have to go through all the trouble that I had to encounter to succeed. I believe that each student deserves to have caring teachers or professors that are focused on each and every peer to ensure a successful future for everyone. Since teachers are the head of the classroom, I believe it is their duty to lead the pack into the next level. A good leader will never leave anyone behind, including the weak. That is why I crave dedicated and constantly focused teachers in my upcoming college classes.

The next level of hierarchy in the classroom setting are the peers around you. It is important to grow deep and personal connections with your classmates so that you can always have a trustworthy group of friends you can rely on for support and help with your educational life. During my high school years, I had my group of friends that I loved. But most of the people I had classes with were like jaguars; independent and focused solely on themselves. They would occasionally acknowledge your presence but still go back to hunting down a perfect grade for the class. Nobody in the classroom really cared for building strong relationships with each other. The reason for most teenage depression cases in the United States is the feeling of isolation. The feeling that most teenagers get when they are not noticed by anyone, including their everyday peers. That is why I want to break that chain of depression in me and focus on finding a classroom that has positive and encouraging students who work together and build each other up.

Most people do not think that humans can have such an affect on a classroom environment. People generally assume that students will be fine as long as they are focused on themselves and receiving good grades in class. But what they do not realize, is that the classroom is like a jungle. With the proper leadership of teachers and a great support from fellow classmates, each student will be able to conquer any obstacle in the great safari trek of life.