From Obsticle to Stepping Stone by Araia

From Obsticle to Stepping Stone by Araia - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Teachers who inspire realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones depending on how we use them.” –Unknown Author

Teachers have the unique position to instill knowledge beyond that which is required by governmental standards. As a part of the community they see the daily development of children and how the actions of those outside the school walls affect them. Teachers are the watchful seers who guide the blind when needed and remove the lenses which once blinded to allow children to see the world.

As a student I always found that by connecting with teachers I could often get the support and nurturing that I was not receiving at home. They were there to help quench my thirst for not only knowledge but for human connection. Through my interrelations with teachers I have learned so many things, one of the most important being how to be a better person.

While I had connections with many of my teachers the one who has impacted my life the most and will continue to do so for the rest of my life is my guardian, aunt, and high school English teacher, Leea Galloza. This woman has done so many amazing things for all of the children in her life. She extends her motherly wisdom to those who need it and she embraces those who are barely holding themselves together. She takes those who are broken into her fold and nurtures them until they are able to stand on their own.

My aunt taught me to look at those who are less fortunate and understand where they are coming from. To have the patients to learn from those who may at first seem like they have very little to offer. She taught me that every person has obstacles to overcome at one point or another but that there is a possibility for greatness in everyone. She taught me to walk down the halls and see possibilities. To see hopes, dreams, desires, and opportunities. To see the daily triumphs.

In the marathon of life, everyone does not start at the same point, some start laps behind shoeless and hungry, but in the end we are all in the same race. We must understand that there is a disparity in the means we start from in order to begin the process of finding common ground. We are all of the same world with the same desire to live, thrive, succeed.
When I was in high school with her I was pushed to befriend many who I would not usually interact with. Through the love and care of my aunt I was brought closer to kids in need that I would never have come in contact with were it not for her. These peers who I previously never encountered became a part of my daily life. I learned to listen intently to those who needed it. To hear the strength in the words of those who have been labeled as lesser by the systems of education.

In school today there is a separation between the kids who are “advanced” and those who are “standard” There are very few occasions where these two groups interact. Core classes, lunches, extracurricular, even the opportunity for extracurricular activities are based on class schedules and therefore inadvertently the segregation continues. This isolation of the two groups prevents the understanding of different people. It limits the diversity of the perspectives in the learning environment.

There are kids whose only meal is the one they get at school while there are others that never have to worry about food. Homework for one kid is a chore a thing that is so simply accomplished while for others without access to computers each typed assignment is an ordeal, an obstacle to overcome. My aunt, taught me about what others were going through. She taught me to care about those outside of myself and lend a helping hand.

Life is not fair in what hand it deals, but the importance of each life is equal. Overcoming obstacles is necessary to move forward in life but there will be times when others are required to help your get over them. My Aunt lent her hand to help me and taught me to do the same for others. She is the pillar which supports the dreams of so many and I can only hope to one day become a post that stands beside her.