No boundaries by erica

No boundaries by erica - October 2018 Scholarship Essay

Over the years of school many teachers will tell their students to think outside the box while doing something such as writing essays. To the students, thinking outside the box could mean a variety of many different things like “going off topic” or “going crazy into detail and expanding their work”. To me, when I hear the phrase, “think outside the box” it means thinking creatively, freely, and off the beaten path of basic work.
There is an imaginary line that holds a box of limited expectations that teachers may have of their students, but outside of that box is a never-ending road to inventive divisions that are held for thinkers that push themselves to do better than just reach the teacher’s expectations. Getting out of our mental boxes is partly a matter of effort and going beyond the most obvious answer. When I think outside of the box I think of sticking with the problem longer, and looking at it from various sides to achieve the most heroic process rather than limit myself to be at everyone else’s standards of themselves.
When I encourage myself to think outside the box, I force myself to think of more complex ways to achieve something and better developed strategies to enhance my work. Overall, thinking outside the box is just a more easier way of saying “Don’t set limitations for yourself. Do better and be better.” And that is just what I do.