Hopefully I'm Not Dead by Elizabeth

Hopefully I'm Not Dead by Elizabeth - December 2015 Scholarship Essay

The future is always uncertain: said by someone, probably famous, from the past. When they said it, I’m sure the person did not mean for their words to become the archetype of dreams and the epitome of fear. Oh yes, I fear the future; I fear its uncertainty, the idea that I may have failed, and the idea that everything I think I want, isn’t what I actually want. As a freshman in college, asking me what I think my future in ten years will be like is harder than asking me to solve a Euclidean geometry problem (I don’t even know what that is). I am still trying to find myself so, how do I know what I want from life if I don't even know me? Doesn't that seem like a requirement? Does anyone ever really know themselves? For now, all I can give you is mere conjecture and the hope that in ten years, I’m not dead.
I would like to think I am not a pessimist but that is just wishful thinking. However, since pessimism would make for a boring and depressing paper, I will channel my inner optimist. Materialistically, in ten years I would like to have a upscale apartment in the downtown area, a BMW i8 or a Fiat Abarth, and a wardrobe to make Kim Kardashian weep. All of this will result from my financially rewarding job at the U.S Embassy in Paris, France. But after a few years of work and jet setting around the globe, I would like to settle down with the man of my dreams. But if I am allowed to be unrealistic, as dreams often are, I would like to be married to “Big Bang” singer, T.O.P. Additionally, we’ll adopt at least three little boys who I wish to raise in the culture of their mother country. We’ll take family trips each summer and some with only myself and my significant other, and I would like to be able to visit home whenever I want.
Like any young person just starting out in the world, my hopes are high and if I want to achieve at least some of my dreams, education must come first. My personal philosophy regarding this topic is that education should be broad, all-encompassing, and continue throughout life. By being an Honors student allows me to gain that rounded education whilst also achieving more prestige. To maximize my work as an Honors student I attend events held by: the Honors program, cultural organizations, and guest lecturers. College is also a time for experimentation. No, not that experimentation. Well, yes that one too but this is an intellectual kind. As I stated before, I have no idea who I am or what I really want. At UNCG, there are so many courses to explore which will allow me to sate my curiosity and experiment with different career paths. Additionally, I am struggling (re:working) through French and I plan to take Japanese my sophomore year. I expect in ten years I will be fluent in both; if I am not, I will be sorely disappointed in myself.
My love of travel began my second year of high school and now all I want to do is get out of the U.S. Thankfully, I get a chance to feed my almost insatiable wanderlust through the Honors program. I would like to study abroad in France my second semester of my sophomore year because, the earlier the better. And if allowed, I would like to study abroad again in either Australia or Japan. My internship will also be out of the country as I would like to intern at a U.S. Embassy in the Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy, the Office of Analysis for European Affaires, or the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation under the Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism office. Those positions are all very different from each other, especially that last one!
Quite unoriginally, I dream of success; just like every other person in the world. We all want to be great but only a few of us achieve such a level-it’s like the Hunger Games or, more appropriately, the Game of Life. That’s right, life is just a game and the winner gets it all. But, unlike the rest, I do not measure success by the amount of dreams I achieve or the amount of money in an overseas bank account but rather by the happiness I have. For example, I know I am successful in writing this paper because I am happy now that it is over. See how that works? Just like how I’ll know I have reached success in my life because no matter where I am or who I am with, I will be happy, even if my dreams did not pan out exactly how I thought. In the next three point five years, my goal is to maintain happiness even when the stress and work is piled on. Happiness is the little consolation I get to help withstand the fear of an unknown future; along with the hope that I am not dead, of course.