Still In Awe by Evalyne

Still In Awe by Evalyne - August 2016 Scholarship Essay

I have been out of high school for a year now. Some days I wonder if any of the things I learned in the classroom was useful. I don’t know how to do taxes and I don’t know how to be the perfect candidate for a job. I believe those are the things that matter the most, but as I sit here and write this, I realized without English, I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things. I wasn’t born speaking English at all, my first language was a Kenyan tribal language. I went through ESOL classes until I eventually became a star English speaker.

My love for the English subject carried on all the way to high school where I signed up for every English class offered;from creative writing to journalism. Everything under the English subject I always preferred. It wasn’t surprising that I spent my weekends at the library picking out new novels to immerse myself in, whether it was cliche books like Pretty Little Liars or Perks of Being A Wallflower, I liked them all. I believe I was the only student in the class who would volunteer confidently to read the novels in class that people deemed “boring”. Night was a classic and The Crucible was scandalous, both my favorites.

All those letters and paragraphs over the years helped shape my future career of journalism. In a stack in my room, all my journals throughout the years with my poems and ramblings. All my blogs covered in teenage angst. Eventually, in my sophomore year, I created my own magazine dedicated to, of course, writing and reading. I called it Affinity Magazine since I, of course, had an affinity for English and everything relating to it. English in high school helped me find my voice through all the books I read and essays I wrote. It helped me figure out that what I truly wanted to do for the rest of my life. Many of my friends hated English but I was always eager to go to class and answer all the questions the teacher would ask us. English was beneficial for many people whether they realize or not, how else will you know the difference between your and you’re? English is what helps us not be grammatically incompetent.

English has also gotten me through the toughest situations in my life during high school when I had no one to talk to, I always wrote how I felt. It was therapeutic, English helped me write the sorrys, the hellos, and the goodbyes. Through my happiest moments, and saddest moments, without English I wouldn’t have been able to express my feelings. Not everyone has the privilege to read or write, but I been blessed to so I take full advantage.

Now as I embark on my college career, I settled on International Affairs and soon one day it will parlay into a journalism career abroad. I still have my magazine, with over 100,000 views a month and readers in 171 countries. Without English, I would not have gotten these opportunities. All those books and all those essays, I’m still in awe at what English can truly do.