Leading my Capricious Heart by Emily

Leading my Capricious Heart by Emily - November 2013 Scholarship Essay

As middle school ends and high school begins, emotions and hormones begin raging. The most prominent thing on most teenagers’ minds is often who they like, who likes them, and what to do about it. It seems that the biggest catch phrase of any decisions made in high school, including those dealing with relationships, is “follow your heart,” and it is with this phrase, that I learned a very valuable lesson.

I was a typical teenager in high school: wanting to wear the best clothes, striving to have the most popular friends, and prioritizing dating. I allowed my heart to lead me, following the advice of so many people, but I ended up in some lonely and heartbroken situations. After many times of letting my emotions get dragged around by boys who my heart had led me to, I decided that the system of letting my heart lead me was not working out.

I realized that so often our hearts and feelings can be deceiving, so rather than following our hearts we need to lead our hearts and discern right from wrong. Through the struggles of my teenage years, while dealing with friends, relationships, heartbreak, and hurt feelings I held onto this realization. I truly believe that by leading my heart instead of following it, I made better decisions and avoided many heartbreaking and emotional circumstances.

From learning this lesson and striving to practice it on a regular basis, I have grown into a stronger, more confident person. I am so thankful that I had this realization in high school and that I now choose to lead my heart instead of following my ever-changing feelings.