The Right Sort of Reading by Hebah

Hebahof Hempstead's entry into Varsity Tutor's February 2015 scholarship contest

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Hebah of Hempstead, NY
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The Right Sort of Reading by Hebah - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

One book I feel that all high school seniors should read before they graduate – even if they must on their own time and effort, and not through a school curriculum – would be Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Looking back from the vantage point of an undergraduate junior, I wish that someone had advised me to augment my school reading list and fiction-laced library hauls with the right type of non-fiction: the type that educates, builds your vocabulary, makes you explore different subjects in spite of their not necessarily meshing with your college path, and gives you a step forward to grow on as you move forward in your higher education.

To me, Outliers was a life-changing title in that it encourages you to think of yourself with potential. From Gladwell’s perspective, there are no miracle stories. These are merely the experiences and successes of people who set out to be good in a certain skill, and applied themselves for a certain amount of hours – in his formula, 10,000 hours.

There is debate over this title, I’ve found out, and whether or not exactly 10,000 hours are needed for success; but what I’ve taken away over the years is that to achieve, you must apply yourself through practice. You can most certainly dream, but you must also educate yourself and actively do.
Reading Outliers encouraged me to look at how much time I was spending on a skill, before complaining that I was not good at it or was not made to do it. Had I given myself enough time to learn the basics before flailing headlong into intermediate developments? Had I asked the right questions from an instructor?

This is another lesson that I learned, in an indirect manner, from Outliers. Sometimes, you will not have the tools needed to learn a skill on your own. In university life, it is up to you to raise your hand in class and speak if you know the answer, or ask without fear if you need clarification. You need to be able to put your right foot forward, be seen and heard, and develop your networking and social skills that will be so needed in the workforce.

From my perspective, reading Outliers might not provide you with all the answers you need when you are moving forward from the safer waters of a public high school education, but it will teach you to take courage and apply yourself in the manner necessary to becoming a fully developed professional.

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