Diverge in a Yellow Wood by Camryn

Diverge in a Yellow Wood by Camryn - December 2022 Scholarship Essay

Although it’s a cliche problem to have, one of the biggest challenges I faced this year was the overwhelming question of my future. Where would I go? What would I do? Who would I be? In front of me sat two options.
Nursing. Safe. Comfortable. I had the skill.
English. Risky. Insecure. I had the passion.
Despite my best efforts not to, I have always been influenced by the choices of others. It is unavoidable. Early in my education, I tested into the gifted program. From my view, it seemed that even at 10 years old, the other ten kids in the program had an idea of what they wanted to accomplish.
They wanted to be doctors. They wanted to be lawyers. They wanted to be CEOs. I had no clue what I wanted to be, but that was what was all around me. So, this year, when it came time for me to pick a major along with all of my friends who dreamed of being physician's assistants, hematologists, and surgeons, nursing seemed like the right path. The more affluent path. The safe path.
It took me the better part of the year to realize that it didn't have to be that way. I didn't have to let their choices influence the vision of my own future. I shadowed nurses and realized I could never do that forever. I continued my public relations internship and realized that's what I loved.
That biggest challenge was also my biggest lesson. It is okay to take a different path. I can choose differently than everyone else. Those same gifted children, my closest friends, have told me I belong in the humanities, but I no longer need that reassurance. I'm more comfortable choosing what I want and what I know will be best for me. I am more comfortable stepping outside of the box.
If I take anything that I learned in 2022 into 2023, I want it to be that, especially as I prepare to embark on a new chapter of my life in college. The lesson I learned will help me choose the clubs, classes, and people I am meant to find. That lesson will let me be the happiest, best version of myself come whatever 2023 has in store.
My goal is to continue nurturing that spirit. My goal is to choose what makes me happy, even if it makes me uncomfortable at first. Even if it isn't what everyone else is doing. My goal, as I transition into this new phase of my life, is to cultivate a life and person hood that is truly me.