Adventures are Good by Kelsie

Adventures are Good by Kelsie - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Forest Witcraft once said, “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
Teachers have a huge responsibility to educate kids not only in mathematics and English, but also in the ethics of being a good human being. In eleventh grade I had a teacher who focused mainly on being yourself, but also to be open to change. She taught my English class to break from the status quo and try something new. Whether we were reading Frankenstein or Pride and Prejudice she always gave us assignments to step out of our comfort zone and open us up to the possibilities around us. One such assignment was while we were reading Lord of the Rings. We were required to dress up like a character from the book and go to school for the day. Although it didn’t teach me much about the book or grammar, I did learn that I could try weird things and have fun doing it. Some would thing this was a useless assignment if I didn’t learn any English from it, but this is not the case, I gained an experience that helped me relate to other people later on in my life. This lesson stayed with me all through my last year of high school and into my college career. I learned to not be afraid of the unknown or the new adventure. I tried a lot of crazy things and made many new friends because I was willing to take the risk.
However, it wasn’t just through weird assignments that she taught us this lesson. It was her personality that emphasized the importance of this. She had sass. She wasn’t afraid to dye her hair purple or wear crazy colors to school. Our class was early in the morning and we were groggy most of the time. To wake us up and open our minds she would take us to a neighboring class and start a dance party for two minutes. It wasn’t hard or elaborate, but these simple aspects of her character made me realize that sticking to the same-old won’t help you learn or grow to be your best self. Although I’m not tempted to dye my hair a crazy color, I am willing to go rock climbing or go sky diving or read an interesting book because of the example she gave me. After all, “nothing is a waste of time if you experience wisely” –Augueste Rodin.