Here Be Dragons by Isaiah

Here Be Dragons by Isaiah - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

Senior quotes are something cherished and long looked forward to by high schooler’s in the final stretch of their academic career before heading off to college. Some people make theirs funny, others like to be serious it all depends on how you want to be remembered. This year is an emotional one for me, as a cross country athlete it's my last year to run with some of by best friends who I may not see for a long time after graduation. My whole year is focused on becoming a better student and athlete, of course, but also to make the most out of what I have left with my friends. Because of these things my senior quote would be, “Here Be Dragons”. It is a reference to old vikings and how they knew the world was big and there were mysterious places they have never been. For these uncharted waters they found dangerous they would write exactly that or mark it with a big dragon because they had no idea what was there. The idea of this phrase started during the cross country season, my coach said the theme for this year would be “Here Be Dragons”. We all thought it sounded ridiculous until he explained it further, we would be expanding our limits, pushing our boundaries, and going places we have never been before. This was my mantra for the season and it struck something deeper inside me. This is my last year to really branch out, to make new discoveries, and to develop my connections with friends rather than stay the same person I have been in past years. This year it is easy to see I have become a better student because I learn more from others, a better leader as a captain and varsity athlete being involved with each guy on my team, and a better person overall because I have made an attempt to be more open. Discovering what is beyond my walls and crossing into places I have been fearful to travel has changed me as a person and set up my senior year for success. When people see my senior quote I want them to feel that inspiration to open up and discover new places inside themselves. Here Be Dragons, expand your horizons and see there's a whole new world waiting out there for you to discover. By expanding my view of the world I have seen many changes in myself and I can guarantee that others will too if they understand the deeper meaning of my senior quote. I have talked with the young men of my cross country about this and I have tried to influence change in their lives and by the end of our season some extraordinary changes were made. There were new connections with guys from other sports and even within our own company. There were no longer any cliques just one united team with some very different people working together in almost perfect harmony rather than separating to be by people just like them. To me this was amazing to see. If my senior quote can have this much influence on even a few people it would make major changes in my school. Something simple like a senior quote can have great significance. Because of the ways this mantra has impacted my life and the lives of people around me it is certainly the only quote I can use. I love to be funny, I love to take a serious tone in some of my work, but this year is more sentimental to me so going into the final stretch… Here Be Dragons.