I See it Every Day by Kellin

Kellinof Bothell's entry into Varsity Tutor's February 2014 scholarship contest

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Kellin of Bothell, WA
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I See it Every Day by Kellin - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

"I thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul"-William Ernest Henley. I see this quote every day, I say it every day and I know that it is this quote, this whole poem that helped me realize just how strong someone can be when their back is against the wall. After graduating high school I knew that I wanted to get out, go where I had no idea. I grew up in a small suburb of Seattle where everyone knows everyone and, to me, this was stifling. I wanted to be able to see the world and take in all it had to offer. So I left, I moved to Europe and began my education among people of every different culture and nationality, of every way and walk of life. There was something so exciting, exotic even, about sitting next to someone from Bulgaria or Thailand or Colombia, and yet something so isolating. It makes one think about the size of the world, and the place one has within it. As I sat in english class with all of these people, all I could think about was the fact that I was in Europe, in a room full of people I did not know, people who spoke different languages than I did, but people who were all looking for something new. As class began, we each took a turn telling the class where we came from, and one quote that meant something to us. This is the quote I chose.

To me this quote means strength, it means that no matter what I trip over, no matter what I endure or no matter how many times I fall, somewhere within me I have the ability to get back up. Living in Europe, away from my family, my culture, even my native language, is hard. Its adventurous and new, but it is not like what many imagine, and because of this I struggled. I missed home but not in the way many college students get homesick. I missed the familiarity and comfort yes, but I also missed the feeling that I actually knew what I was doing, the feeling of belonging. It was this quote that helped me when I was out of my element, this quote that came to mind when I was lonely or struggling in school. Ironically enough, it was this quote that found me one of the most amazing friends as well. After I chose to share this quote in my class, the girl next to me looked at me like I was crazy, and then she shared her quote, the next line in that same poem. It is because of this that I made a friend in a country far from home, in a class where I happened to be one of two native english speakers. For this reason alone, this quote will always mean so much to me. Yet, the real reason this quote is one that I look to each and every day, is because it is the quote that reminds me that all people are survivors. This is the quote that my roommate and friend repeated back to me when I failed a test, or when I aced one, its the quote that I wrote down more times than one when I was bored or missed home, the quote I remembered when I was traveling in a foreign country with no map and a maxed out credit card.

More importantly, this is the quote that got me through my very first true heartbreak. The first time I got my heartbroken I was thousands of miles away from my friends and family, in a small apartment in Italy, living with my newfound friend. Until then I hadn't realized that when people say their heart is broken, they mean it. I didn't know just how much one person had the ability to hurt others, until that one night I got my heart broken. When I came home, heartbroken and sobbing, it was this quote that my friend once again said to me, and this quote that helped me realize that there is more to life than one boy. Life is all about the ups and downs, the happy and the sad. I have realized that without the lows, one can never reach for and achieve the highs. I needed the heartbreaks, the lonely wandering through Europe, the new friends that were so different from me, in order to be successful and happy in life. I know that without these I would not be where I am today, I would not be the person I have become and I definitely would not be as strong as I am.

To me this quote is a description of life, it is a showing of appreciation, of gratitude, that I have made it this far and that I have achieved this much. This quote is survival, it is heartbreak and failure, it is happiness and success. Whatever it represents to each individual, it has meaning and with that it has truth.

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