Looking into the Past; Understanding the Present by Jennifer

Looking into the Past; Understanding the Present by Jennifer - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

"Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow." As I look back at the quote I'd chosen my senior year, I chuckle in its irony. In high school, I had been focused on the future: I had countdowns, "How many days until graduation?" "How many days until my real life begins?" "How many days until I can make a change?" I didn't realize it at the time, but the answer laid within, at least for those last two: I didn't have to wait to make the most of my life.

Change didn't have to be sweeping. It didn't have to be enormous; it's the tiny steps that add up. And so, by senior year, I'd realized how I'd squandered some of my earlier time in my impatience, and I began to work towards what I could alter, what I could change. I strived to aid those around me in my high school, whether it just be something small like holding open a door or offering a smile to working to create an after-school computer lab to aid my peers who lacked internet access at home. I took small steps and realized, without those small steps, massive changes would never occur.

It takes one step at a time: one smile, one door, one person. Even one good deed a day adds up in the long run: you can plan to do something massive, to create sweeping change, but don't forget about the small steps. Your future, our future, is created by what we choose to do today. Not tomorrow.