The Journey by Brianna

The Journey by Brianna - December 2014 Scholarship Essay

A popular question for students is often: What do you want to be when you grow up? Most of us are already grown and we still get asked the same question that has been drilled into us for years. A stockbroker, doctor, or lawyer might be our answers. But what is this final product without what comes before? Without educating ourselves about the future that we imagine ourselves to be so prepared for?

In the case of our lives, and who we are, the answer cannot be in a single word or phrase. Who we are is not discovered at the end, we discover who we are along the way. Our journey, if you will. Our journey began on day one with education.

Education is not just the first 16 plus years of our lives sitting in a classroom learning about asymptotes and indirect object pronouns. Education is the discovery and understanding of the world around us, shaping who we are. I learned not only to say please and thank you, but also to examine situations in different light and understand the consequences that can arise from one's actions. My life has been full of mistakes- big ones, too. But that is what life is about. Making mistakes and learning from them. Educating ourselves regarding the right and the wrong, figuring out what is acceptable and what is not, finding out what we want to be in life.

Who I am today is thanks to everything that I have learned along the way. However, I still absorb and retain new information, new values, every day that I explore the world. Education is not closing a book and reciting answers, education is the life I have lived, the journey I am still attempting.