A Read to Help with a Hard Transition by Hannah

A Read to Help with a Hard Transition by Hannah - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Growing up can be a scary adventure, especially the transition between high school and post-high school life. High school students go from asking permission to use the bathroom to making life- altering decisions. Should I go to college? What major should I choose? How will I finance college? Where will I live? And the questions will go on and on. Personally for me, answering these questions was a hard task. But at the same time, I knew life could be worse. The stress I was feeling at the time was nothing compared to the stress that other people, even younger than me, go through every day in the world.

The example that I kept going back to in my head was a book that I had read called Night by Elie Wiesel. I read this book when I was in high school. It is a true story about Elie Wiesel, and his struggle as a teenager as he is put through the ever-horrendous trials of the Holocaust. This book is not only a touching story that is both educational and historical, but it also demonstrates the struggles of growing up. Elie goes from being a twelve year-old student of the Torah, to having to make life and death decisions. The imagery and the narration of the book alone gives the audience insight into the hardest questions that a young boy should never have ask himself. For high school students, this book can put their life-changing problems into perspective, showing them that this part of their life has challenges but that these challenges are not the worst situation that could happen to them. It also shows the way a person can transition when faced with a crisis, whether it be picking a school or trying to keep one’s faith during the hardest of moments.

The book also shows that the various troubles and issues during the transition can be challenging in sometimes the cruelest ways. Sometimes you will lose people you love, like when Elie lost his mother and sister or when a student loses a parent or grandparent. Also in this part of a student’s life, one may not get the news that one desires, like being rejected by a university or learning that you are going to Auschwitz. While obviously the news that Elie got would be more devastating it can teach high school students that even though Elie was tried in his beliefs and will, he kept going even in the harshest circumstances, so certainly one can survive the rejection from their dream school.

I know that these thoughts will occur through a student’s head, because when I was in the transition myself, I kept going back to when I read the book and remembering the courage Elie showed during a trying time in his life. Even when situations were at their worst he pushed forward. In comparison, the fact that my high school boyfriend broke up with me and that I did not know how to afford college, felt like nothing in comparison to Elie’s situation. The courage he showed gave me bravery myself, to fight through what was happening. And even though the book ended on a sad note, I later found that Elie grew up to have a productive life, and if he could make this huge transition then I certainly could. This is why a high school student should read this book before graduation. Reading a true story about how a young man endured such a challenge that made him face his impending adulthood, inspired me to push through my circumstances that I was facing while growing up. It also really put my situation into perspective and made me thankful that I even had the freedom to have to make huge decisions like where to go to school. I believe my younger peers will develop the same attitude I had towards the challenging transition that awaits them after graduation.