Falling in Love with LIfe by Ashley

Falling in Love with LIfe by Ashley - April 2022 Scholarship Essay

Despite my love for performing, I have not always enjoyed being in the company of others. After being teased all throughout middle school I started hating any and all socializing as I feared judgement. This played a role in my diagnosis of a generalized anxiety disorder and depression when I was in seventh grade. My parents had given up hope that I would ever be adequate in communication, as had I.

When it came to signing up for freshman year classes I needed one more elective; I decided to take a bold step and sign up for peer assisting. Instead of being unable to communicate well with the students in the program like I had originally thought would happen, I immediately bonded with the peer I was assigned to support. The class soon became much more than a simple elective; it became a safe space for me. After years of constant fear, I finally had a place where I felt like myself. Instead of only coming in during the assigned times I started visiting the classroom before school and even during lunch to talk to the students.

Becoming a peer tutor was the best decision of my life and led to me realizing it does not matter what others think of me. Now by senior year I have my own small group of friends whom I never would have talked to if it wasn't for the special education program. It gave me a new love for talking to others; it helped me find my identity. Besides leading to my communication skills, peer tutoring has also sparked a passion for my future career. I have decided to become an Occupational Therapist in order to continue my love for helping others. The volunteer opportunity helped me learn the importance of taking risks and being myself. It helped me learn to fall in love with life itself.