Illinois by Gerrica

Illinois by Gerrica - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Coming into my freshman year of high school, I did not know what to expect. I walked the halls in awe of what the years to come had in store for me. Was I going to be popular finally? Was I going to be the smartest kid in my class? Was I going to be an athlete, or in drama club, or on the math team? There were so many options and this new found independence scared me a bit. But as the years went on, I found my niche. I was in the chamber orchestra and on the cross country team. I found a great group of friends. I found that high school was nothing like the movies. I had a lot of fun! Yes, there were always be every type of person: the mean girl, the super rich kid, the star athlete, the future president, and the list goes on and on. I was prepared to handle these people and my social life, even as a self-acclaimed recluse, was vibrant (at least for a recluse). But, what I wasn't prepared for astonished me.

High school was a time of independence, coming of age, fun, headaches, stress, and the occasional tears. Everyone will say high school is meant to have fun. Yes, it is. However, people forget that getting into college is based off of what was done in high school. As a freshman and sophomore I wasn't too worried about college, and no one should be. Underclassmen should get acclamated to the high school environment. Their job is to join clubs, find friends, find a passion and keep good grades. Junior and senior year was a whole different ball game.

Getting an education is a competition I never thought I entered. High school became less about fun and more about my future. Even more so, the opinion of my peers. Not socially, but academically. It was a vicious dog eat dog world. Suddenly, people were interested in my class rank, my ACT score, my AP scores, my GPA, and my college acceptances. So I started to do most of these things for my peers and not for myself. I took useless AP classes and I applied to the most prestigious universities. I knew these things were all motivated by unhealthy competition. During my senior year, peers would question my college acceptances. How did she get in? She doesn't even have a good ACT score. She only got in because of affirmative action. These things said by peers were shocking. I did absolutely nothing to these people. Why were they attacking me? I worked hard to get in to these schools and no one could take that away from me.

So my advice to the younger students is to remember what you are there for. You are not there for anyone else, but yourself. Do not be pressured to take a bunch of AP classes because all of your peers expect you to. Find a passion and stick with it and so what if it's not an AP class. Set your educational goals for yourself and not for your reputation. In the spectrum of life, this is a minute detail. Remember to stay true to what you want to do. Get an ACT or SAT score right for you. Apply to the colleges you want to go to. Finally, do not change yourself to meet the expectation of your peers. In the end, who cares what they think.