Impact by Brandy

Impact by Brandy - January 2018 Scholarship Essay

Impact. One simple word that holds so much weight. When deciding which word I would use to describe the reason why I want to attend college, many options came my way. Standards, expectations, reason, possibilities, destiny. Each of these could easily describe why I want to attend college, but none had as much punch, or meaning, as impact.
From my earliest youth years, I have always had a niche for making a difference in lives. Yes, this sounds cliche, but let me explain. I am a very soft-spoken, reserved person who has always had trouble with friendships and confidence. Having realized this at an early age, I decided not to let it trouble me. I broke out of my shell, and found my “reason.” This “reason” for breaking out was so I could impact others. So I could let people know that yes, there are others out there that have plenty of issues. Basically, to tell them that everyone has problems but we all need to deal with them. I suppose you’re wondering where education comes into play in this rollercoaster story, so I’ll get to my point.
Whilst in the middle of my realization of my “reason,” I became deathly sick. Sick, with nothing. Well, nothing that the doctors could find. I was an anomaly. Nobody could figure me out. I missed month and month of school, lost all my friendships, and even severed my family relations. This carried on for three whole years, each worst than the last. Throughout these three years, I visited dozens of doctors from homeopathic doctors to the doctors at Mayo Clinic. I remember none of them, or what the appointments consisted of. What I do remember very vividly was the nurses. Now, I’ve had my fair amount of nurses to say the least, but each one had an impact on my life. They may not have diagnosed my mysterious condition or given me special healing pills, but what they gave me was strength, and most of all, hope. Each nurse knew me by name because I had probably seen them at least three times, and every time I went to the clinic, they greeted me with positivity and energy. I would sit with the nurses and talk to them while waiting for my appointment, and they were always willing to talk, listen, or just sit with me while going through this hard time. Each one had an impact. But, the nurse I remember the most left me with a very strong, heart-jerking question one afternoon. “What motivates you?” This was her question; plain and simple. What motivates you? Now, as a fifteen-year-old girl, you’d probably expect an answer like “My grades” or “My parents are making me do it.” No. Not for me. You know what my answer was? My answer was “You.” This is exactly what I told this nurse, with no hesitation and no question. It was her. She motivated me. She made me want to push myself and gave me the strength I was looking for. This is why I am going to college to become a nurse. Because of her. She made the biggest impact on my life. I want to make an impact just like her. If I could change one person’s life, then all my struggles would be worth it.
To wrap up this river-of-emotions paper, I would like to say that having one word to explain why I want to go to college is deep. It is a deep topic. But when you know the right word, everything flows so easily; falls right into place. This is exactly what happened for me. Impact. One simple word, a whole story to prove its worth.