Renewing My Passion For Writing – A Thank-You To Ms. Bratton by Katerina

Renewing My Passion For Writing – A Thank-You To Ms. Bratton by Katerina - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

As a child, my favorite subject was English, and my least favorite was easily math. I read a new book nearly every day – even sneaking novels under my desk while my teacher was lecturing – and loved fashioning stories of my own. While, admittedly, my dream was to become a famous singer, not an author, my adoration for storytelling was a big part of my childhood.

As I entered middle school, I excelled in all of my classes. Seeing me do well in math and science – often regarded as more difficult subjects – caused my parents and teachers to push me in that direction. In eighth grade, when I was recommended to be in on-level English instead of honors after a year of struggling to write A-worthy essays, it sealed the deal for me that I was meant to pursue STEM. In high school, I continued in this direction, taking all the AP math and science classes that were offered. In junior year, as I added AP English and history classes to my schedule alongside the high-level math and science courses, I began to realize that the direction I was pushing myself in may not be the right one for me. I did well in the STEM subjects, but I enjoyed reading and writing in my humanities courses more than I did problem-solving and experimenting in my math and science ones.

It wasn’t until senior year that I truly rediscovered my love for writing. I’d joined Ms. Bratton’s yearbook class as a way to see if I was interested in graphic design, but it led to much more. I got to explore my creativity as a photographed events, interviewed students, wrote stories, designed spreads, and edited my peers’ work. Ms. Bratton quickly noticed my potential and encouraged me along the way. She trusted me with bigger projects, and on long days when there were deadlines, I was usually the last one there because I truly loved what I was doing. I’d never felt that kind of passion in any of my other subjects. I realized that the reason I didn’t enjoy writing essays wasn’t because I didn’t like to write, but because I wasn’t interested in proving the way that a literary device impacted the meaning of the story. But in yearbook, when I documented the details of events and told the story of real people, I flourished.

Ms. Bratton not only brought attention to my writing abilities – eventually surprising me with the Best Writer award at the end of the year –, but also taught me a lot of life lessons. She was one of those people who always had wisdom to spare. I remember sitting in the classroom late at night while we worked and just asking her questions about everything that came to mind. As someone who was just beginning to understand myself and was about to go to college, I had a lot of things that I was unsure of. She was able to be more than a teacher – she was a mentor and a friend. When she heard me singing at our senior baccalaureate, she even sent me a playlist of some songs that she thought I would like. It was little things like that that showed how much she cared for all of us as individuals. When it came time to choose my major at the University of Florida, I switched from Finance – something I’d chosen the summer before senior year – to Journalism because of the new passion I’d found in her class. I will forever be grateful for everything she taught me and for making me realize what I really love to do.