Learning Lessons in the Future by Ivana

Learning Lessons in the Future by Ivana - September 2018 Scholarship Essay

I have always held the belief that one does not need to be in a classroom to learn. There is no age in which a person stops learning-- there is always something to learn no matter how big or small. In twenty-five years, I see myself learning something new each and every day in my journey to becoming an environmental scientist. I wish to be part of the people that will help heal different parts of the Earth and help different forms of life flourish.

My aspirations of wanting to be a scientist are due to my nature of constantly wanting to learn and test new ideas-- to understand how one variable affects the others. The reason I have fixated on being an environmental scientist is that I have seen and heard of how, as humans, we have altered the Earth and carved out something for ourselves. We have one of the biggest effects on Earth. My fascination centers on how much of our damage we can reverse. What will be the effect of beginning the process of reforestation and building the ecosystems and the habitats we have destroyed? I long to be a part of that experimental journey and observation of the world around us.

It is clear to me that in a profession such as this, there will be a constant source of stimuli. There will always be something to learn at the end of the day. I imagine that this learning will result from the different people I will come across. The people who have ultimately been affected by the destruction of the Earth themselves. I imagine that from them, I will get to peak into all different sorts of cultures and lifestyles. This profession is not only about the environment but about the people that live in it and the way they live.

However, if my profession does not lead me to what I have envisioned, then I trust one can always learn from themselves-- this is to say that I believe in myself enough to be able to learn on my own without any further outside stimuli. It could be something as small as learning what daily schedule works best for me or having a grand epiphany of where I want my life to go.

In the grand scope of things, learning, to me, is inevitable. It is a part of daily life and has lead to many of the advancements in life. When asked how I see myself learning in twenty-five years, I say I see myself learning from my surroundings, from the people around me and my environment, each and every day.