What is Your Biggest Goal for This School Year? Why? by Emeline

What is Your Biggest Goal for This School Year? Why? by Emeline - September 2020 Scholarship Essay

My biggest goal for this school year is to get accepted to my “dream school”. This is my biggest goal because it will set my trajectory for the next four years and beyond.
School and education have always been integral parts of my life. Every day since I could remember, I have gotten up and gone to school. But for me, education is so much more than just being physically present in a classroom. As someone who lives in the United States, where school is mandatory for all children, it’s sometimes easy to fail to recognize that even being able to get up and go to school every day is a privilege that I was born with. Education is what allows us to make informed decisions for ourselves based on not only past experiences of our own, but also the past experiences of others whose full stories we know.
As I begin my senior year of high school, the importance of continuing my education has never been so clear to me. My time being able to get my education in free local public schools is nearly over, and now what happens next is entirely my choice. Like many other students in their senior year of high school, this is the first time that I have had to research and select a new school. For me, this decision was very daunting for a long time. Even as my friends and classmates started to begin the college search, I still felt like I could never do the same.
During summer break, I decided it was time to muster up the courage to fight my fear of the unknown. I began by thinking about which classes and hobbies I enjoy the most, and how I might be able to pursue them at a college or university. My next step was to search for institutions of higher education that fit my requirements, both academically and personally. It is now September of my senior year, and by using resources from my school, and having conversations with friends who have recently graduated and moved on to pursue further education, I have been able to select schools that I believe will set me on the trajectory that I want.
Although my pursuit of higher education so far appears to be lengthy, there is still much more to be done before I achieve my goal for my senior year of high school. It’s important to me that I get accepted to my “dream school”. While I would be happy to get accepted to any school that has a strong science department and biology majors, my “dream school” means more than just somewhere that has the academic department that I have sought out. My “dream school” not only has many biology-related majors, but also the environment that I will thrive best in. It is important to me that the college or university that I will go to is somewhere that I feel included and safe. Unlike any of my past education, college is not just somewhere I will go during the day. College is somewhere where I will not only learn, but also live. Even when I can leave at 2:30, I am able to look back and recognize that during times when I didn’t feel physically or emotionally secure at school, my classwork and interpersonal relationships often suffered as well. 
Getting accepted to my “dream school” means that I will be able to begin my journey towards becoming a veterinarian. Just as my past experiences in education have prepared me for this year, my next four years of school will prepare me for the four after that, which will prepare me for the career that I want.
All of my small goals that I have had each year play a role in the person I will become, and this goal isn’t any different. There may be many small goals this year, such as writing college essays or taking SATs, that will propel me forward in my pursuit of college acceptance. Getting accepted to my “dream school” is important to me because it could lead me to the success that I have been working toward my whole education so far. I have worked so hard, and put in immense amount of time and effort towards my education that it is just that much more important to me that I am able to continue my education in an environment where I will thrive.