The Benefits of Being a Dreamer by Ella

The Benefits of Being a Dreamer by Ella - December 2020 Scholarship Essay

What if I told you that I'm going to become a surgeon, a best-selling author, and be a mother of 5 simultaneously? As my father, the ultimate realist, would say,"You're being unrealistic, Ella". As a person who holds the complete opposite viewpoint of my father (I like to think of myself as the ultimate dreamer), nothing frustrates me more than that sentence. Of course, I don't think I'm going to be a surgeon, but man are those people superheroes. However, I do believe that no matter what I want to do, I could do it if I just reach far enough into the sky.
I wasn't always a believer in possibility. It's funny because you typically hear about how others used to believe that dreams could come true but then their dreams didn't come true and that crushed their spirit, but for me, it was the other way around. I had an ideal family for the first years of my life, however, when I entered middle school my life sort of flipped upside down. All of the sudden my sister had become severely mentally ill, both of my grandfathers passed and a cousin of mine passed away in three consecutive years. Each loss hit me like a ton of bricks but what hurt the most was grieving a relationship with my big sister that was no longer possible because of the severity of her condition. It was at this point in my life that I realized that life is going to suck no matter what happens. These years were really hard for me but what finally pulled me out of a really dark place was the belief that I can either sit here and dig myself into a deeper hole or I can pull myself out of it and make things happen for me if I so choose to.
My goal for this academic year and every year after that is to put myself in the best position possible to lead a life that brings me happiness. I can choose to believe and have hope in my aspirations becoming reality and it is with that belief in success that I will lead into this school year with.