Essay from a Human by Catelyn

Essay from a Human by Catelyn - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

Hello, I’m sure you’ve read hundreds of essays answering the same question in different ways, but I would like to pose my own question: Did any of them come with a guarantee they were human? Well this one does, and as a human being I’ve always been interested in why we humans are what we are, and why we do the things we do when we do them. For this and a variety of other reasons we will explore, I plan on majoring in psychology starting with a general study. Not only do I feel it will open a lot of job opportunities for myself in the future, but I feel with my personal experience and assistance furthering my education I can make a positive impact, if not on the world as a whole than in an individual's world.
I am very interested in the psyche of man as it concerns whether people are chemically disposed to their actions or if it is the systemic practices we implement as a society and the effect it has over time that makes man inherently evil (speaking in accord with Philip Zimbardo’s definition of the word). Furthering this thought process, I am intrigued by how this is impacted by social media and the internet as a whole, following how it affects every generation of humans and the internet for better or worse is something I would like to be a part of.
I also grew up in a strict and almost cult-like religion that breaking away from made me very aware of how people crave escapism; often in the form of both legal and illegal substances, organized religion, gambling, thoughtless consumerism, and most often the aforementioned social media. I can see this grow more and more prevalent after the pandemic and the resulting quarantine changed how we interact with other humans and the technology we use daily. From where I stand I can see my community and my loved ones hurt from a lack of connection and third spaces whilst having the greatest trap and tool at their fingertips.
Not only do I feel a sense of duty to help in any way that I can, but I desperately want to create a better world for the next generation to grow up in, and help bring about better ways to connect with our fellow humans without a device between us. Learning and discovering more about psychology with the assistance of your scholarship would be an amazing aid to the start of my journey and I would be very thankful to be considered.