A Year to Remember by Brooke

A Year to Remember by Brooke - January 2022 Scholarship Essay

2021 was a year full of hardships and trials. There was a worldwide pandemic, there was political turmoil, and through all of it I still had to be a teenager. I dealt with the death of my grandma, the imprisonment of my uncle and other insignificant teenage problems that felt huge to me. Through all this I learned skills that most teenagers can’t say they’ve learned.

Our school system is highly flawed. High school is a nightmare. Nobody wants to be at school or do homework. Coming to school is like putting yourself through extreme physical pain because the government told you to. You can feel the discomfort in your joints as you first walk into the building. Many people get extreme feelings of anxiety and/or depression from school. I know I used to. However, through this year I have learned that though the things we do in school seem pointless, they are really testing whether you are willing to put in the effort. I’ve learned I don’t have to get straight A’s to be smart or to have a successful future. I’ve learned not to stress so much. Society has put this idea in our heads that to be smart and successful you must get a 4.0, take all AP and CE classes, participate in extra curriculars. Through 2021 I learned you don’t have to do all those things. Being smart and successful is very individualized. Your future should be built around you not the other way around. I figured out what it means to me to be successful, and I've figured out what I need to do to be successful by my own standards.

To sum up my mess of thoughts, 2021 has taught me that I don’t have to be the cookie cutter version of smart to be successful. Now that I'm not so stressed and worried about my grades I'm doing even better in school. Plus, I have more time for myself and for friends. I have more time to be a teenager and figure out who I am because ultimately that is what we should be learning in high school.