New year, no academic havoc! by Destinee

New year, no academic havoc! by Destinee - December 2020 Scholarship Essay

New Year's resolutions seemingly touch on the core of what a person wants to change, delete or add into their lives. It's a refresher of sorts. And what's to it? What you want to make of it! Education is similar to that too. We have so many resources at our hands in the 21rst century that it can be easy to lose sight of what's important because there are so many options. Do you want in person? Online? Switch and do both of them? Talk about choice overload! As everything seems to be falling apart, resolutions ground us in what's truly relevant and education plays an important factor in a person's development.

For me, what has been called "education" has been such an up and down topic. I was such a good student in 8th grade, starting out in some honors classes. During 10th grade, I started to get a little lazier and didn't really care for school. Like, what's the point? Things are being imposed on me and I'm a loser if I don't have the highest grade. Or the most ambition for things that I wouldn't be applying to my life. I'm in 11th grade now and I'm having a better time mentally coping with school and possible educational pursuits.

One education resolution I have for 2021, and even now, would be to just let go of the worry of grades and resume back to enjoying the acquisition of knowledge for the sake of it. Dare I say, I started to like learning things when taking on a perspective of discovering something new, instead of trying to beat Miss Susy Q for the top of the class. I believe that's why it's so easy to hate school, despite desiring to know more about things. The pressure to overachieve, competition amongst peers, and a plethora of things going on in a learner's life.
After reflecting on education and where I'm going, I decided to make a change within myself. To take a position to just do what I can and just learn for the sake of learning will help improve my mental health because my worth will not be connected to it. I'm worthy just because I am and I know I have the drive to get things done. I refuse to let the school system drain me of the pure love of knowledge because tests are all they want in my head. I've turned the cards and made this a game. In this game, there's no way of losing because every driplet of knowledge I get from my technological faucet adds to what I have in my glass. This year, I learned how to learn and study and it was so nice! I even enjoyed meditation music as that helped put my mind at ease

Learning is so important to me because it helps me connect to the world I'm around and hopefully make a postivie different in it. Learning, after now knowing what I know, will be limited by the external influences trying to sway to pursue anything I don't want to. Find your passion and let the passion pour out. Remember: you're a person, not a grade. Education is learning and that's up to you how you make it be.