How I Positively Impacted My High School and Student Body by Blythe

How I Positively Impacted My High School and Student Body by Blythe - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

I was not carried off the field on the shoulders of my peers cheering my prowess on the field. Nor did I win a Knowledge Bowl, noted for any Math acknowledgment, given an award touting me as a science prodigy, nor did I lead the student body as a fearless leader and President. What I did do was see the Wallflowers. The ones who are on the fringes of the student body, the ones, who I have found, were the most interesting individuals of the student body and who made our school a mosaic of colors.

Wallflower is a beautiful word. When I hear the word wallflower mentioned, I picture a home sitting on a cliff above the ocean with vines of flowers climbing the outer walls, seagulls above calling to each other, and the smell of salt water mixed with the sound of crashing waves. A place where I feel peace. Wallfower describes the friends I have met sitting outside the circle of the main student body perfectly.

I have met a boy who spent most of his time quiet, with his head down always with a notebook. Turns out he was an amazing artist. Another was very good at karate, another at singing, and yet another who was witty, kind, and a complete intellect. I have met Furries, Bronies, D and D, Pokemon lovers, Anime enthusiasts, and I have learned from them all. I met a girl who everyone, and I do mean everyone, was terrified of. She curses with the best of them, threatens with the best of them, and makes sure everyone knows she will follow through with those threats. She has also had the most interesting life, and there have been times when I was pretty sure I was going to feel the back of her hand until one day she asked me how I can just talk to people and she let me know how shy she is and does not know how to approach people.

I did not just become this person, I had siblings who are the Wallflowers of society, I have grown up watching people walk by them pretending they are not there. They are there, they do contribute and they have made me see more colors in my world than I ever would have without them. I still will not be carried off any field, my name will not be seen on any plaque hanging on any wall, but I will leave my high school with a circle of friends that have impacted me as much as I have impacted them simply because I looked for the Wallflower and I listened.