Continued Education – The path to happiness by Gabriela

Continued Education – The path to happiness by Gabriela - March 2018 Scholarship Essay

We get to decide what is the best way to live.

Every morning, when our first alarm rings we have two choices; to wake up or to remain in bed.
With the choice to remain in bed, we give ourselves into discouragement and lose the first battle of the day. However, when we wake up on the first alarm, we get to practice our ability to choose. Motivated by the expectation of the day, we step above our instinct for more sleep and conquer the first battle. With this choice, we get to live another day filled with opportunity for joy.

The choice to persevere in our education works in a similar way. Building and mastering new skills takes time and commitment. To become good at something we must repeatedly choose some discomfort for the sake of something else that is worth more than the momentary discomfort.

When it comes to continuing education, the relative discomfort and hard work needed to succeed will enable us to enjoy life more fully. It will allow us to: add more value to our work, enjoy more profoundly the beauty of the world around us and communicate better to build stronger relationships.
With more education, we can discover new ways to contribute and add value to the lives of those around us. Our world needs skilled labor to continue growing and providing better lives for more people. From building new products that will improve the lives of many to developing new laws that will enable the construction of a more equitable society, education allows us to help others.

The choice to continue our education also allows us to enjoy our lives more fully. For example, remember the sensation of amusement from riding a bicycle in a summer’s day. Think about the refreshing breeze brushing on your shoulders. Now, recall how difficult it was to get there - think of all the times you had to fall just so that you could maintain your equilibrium on those two wheels. Education works in a similar way. It sometimes takes much hard work and even failure to be comfortable on a certain job or with a certain task. However, in the end, the skill opens new opportunities for much joy and fulfillment.
Finally, education allows us to build stronger relationships. We live in communities colored by our different experiences and skills. Education allows to understand our lives better in relation to those of others. It allows us to think critically about our choices and our lives. When we learn more about the mistakes, journeys, and dreams of others, we are more able to live with intention. With more knowledge about our world and those around us, we can make better choices about our lives.

Education adds color to our lives. As we grow and expand our understanding of the world we can become better equipped to choose the best way to live. As we develop the strength to grow we can become freer to choose happiness.