Greatness is in the Stars: My Major by Jackson

Greatness is in the Stars: My Major by Jackson - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

It is said by many that we don’t choose greatness in this life: real greatness is doing what we do with the hand we’re dealt. For many parts of my life, I have attempted time and time again to live up to this idea. When I have failed and failed and managed to fail again, I’ve always questioned whether true greatness really is obtained from people with easy lives. But as I’m approaching the end of my senior year in high school, I am constantly reminded of the value of these failures. These times I’ve fallen have made me better, even if only 1% better than last time. These constant failures and many past lessons have prepared me for my dream, to major in Aerospace Engineering, because I want to make my family proud, and myself proud of my own past failures that have led me to this time in my life brought by change. A big factor in this was my past experiences and a very special someone who led me down the right path. This is my story, about why I picked Aerospace; why I desire to reach the stars.

Growing up I felt no need to apply effort. I had the worst grades imaginable, as I would get called down to the principal's office every week for getting in trouble, and I would always slack off in all corners of life, putting my own personal wants over the needs and wants of the people around me, and even my own needs. I sacrificed my own livelihood for pleasure. After all, all of that crap that forced me to study and apply effort only made me feel tired and crappy. To be blunt, I was extremely egotistical and lazy. I remember there was a time when I would simply scribble down random answers on my math or history quizzes so I could go to break early. However, eventually, COVID hit: and the realization came. I couldn’t be lazy forever. The grasp of youth had finally loosened on me, and I still wanted to chase that sense of freedom I had always had when I was a child. It was when I finally discovered aerospace engineering, that I had finally let go of that materialistic viewpoint: a world that was artificial, free of struggle, and full of static: was never possible in the first place. Maybe I had known that the whole time, or maybe I was running from it the entire time. Even so, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was living with my grandpa at the time. He was a hardened man: built by discipline and as tough as nails. He would often teach me in the same, disciplinary ways, albeit I was soft and often saw him as crude, but I now realize that was the same way he grew up. He didn’t know how to read, he never went to college, and he never had a degree: but even still, he was able to build hundreds of structures in his lifetime, designing several buildings: he was able to look at a set of plans or design a blueprint with little effort. He passed away that same year during quarantine, during the fire evacuations, and during the painful season I still try to forget but never can. But even so, the last lesson he taught me in life was something I never forgot, and the whole reason I went from having zero ambition in life to seeking a field in aerospace engineering. And that was: hard work is never a gift. It’s never obtained through natural ability. It's found in the stars, you just gotta find a way to get there.

The lesson my grandpa was able to teach me has greatly influenced my life every day. I began to take school seriously. I turned all of my work in on time, I dedicated a lot of my time from watching TV and playing video games to studying diligently. I went from lazing around every day to winning several FFA awards, becoming a peer tutor for history students, helping my friends with their calculus homework, and taking a leadership role in several clubs at my school, as well as getting straight A’s in every year of high school. Because of my past mistakes, I have finally been able to make my parents proud. I’m a son they can truly feel appreciative of, and the lesson my grandpa taught me is forever fresh in my mind like it was only yesterday. It’s something I live by, both metaphorically and literally. I wanna reach the stars, and I wanna reach my best self. This is why I picked Aerospace Engineering as my major.