A Child-like Yearning; The Emotion in Movement by Dakari

A Child-like Yearning; The Emotion in Movement by Dakari - September 2024 Scholarship Essay

1)
I have always had a difficult time when learning things in school. Sitting in a classroom, bright lights beaming down onto my desk. The teacher talks for an hour as we try to pay attention and take notes. The thought to let my eyes close and drift off until the bell rings passes through my mind numerous times as the lesson goes on. I envy those younger than me. Educators believe that being older means being more serious; but I personally would love using art and songs to learn high school chemistry. But alas, I am required to use pen and paper, scrupulously trying to jot down all the words spoken by the teacher who is arguably just as bored as me.

This cannot be it.

The creativity and fun of learning surely can’t be seeping into the pages of textbooks that grow cobwebs on untouched shelves. 
The lust for an education, exhaled by every student that crosses the academy threshold. Notebooks filled to the brim with doodles due to the lethargy of being kept in square rooms for hours on end.  
 
This cannot be it.  
 
And it is not. Rarely, but just often enough, a teacher graces us with assignments that reflect our childlike yearning for artistic and imaginative classwork. We try to keep our composure as "edgy teens" while we silently scramble for crayons and colored pencils. We feel no need to hold back our sheepish smiles as we color outside the lines, its as if we were transported back to a simpler time with no troubles or worries. And while we decorate our projects with stickers and glitter, we find ourselves retaining the information our teachers once urged us to care about. Who knew it would only take some arts and crafts.

2)
There are few things that interest me within a schools curriculum. Language Arts has always intrigued me; the form of understanding the meaning behind every word a writer handpicked to tell their story. The way the words on a page create such a vibrant and distinct image in my mind; it is captivating. However there are many things that are better learned outside of academics.

The human body is incredible in the way it can be trained; strengthened into a mountain and taught to move with the fluidity of an ocean. The emotion and vulnerability that goes into dancing is something that cannot be conveyed through words alone. The way the music feels when its used as my voice, each instrumental swell portrayed by a different move. Being interpreted by not just me, but everyone watching me, hearing me; feeling the way I do when I dance.