The Value of Education by Kevin

The Value of Education by Kevin - October 2022 Scholarship Essay

Being wise has different definitions. It could mean being specialized in something, having varied experiences in life, or even someone who could teach you valuable lessons from time to time. However, that is completely different from someone who is educated, or received an education. Receiving an education is more than attending class and doing homework; it is the wish for enlightenment.
Education As a Pathway to Freedom
Freedom of speech and expression: the rights we all know that are part of our Constitution's First Amendment. Well, to use those freedoms, you must be able to develop those free, independent thoughts and opinions in the first place. That is where education comes in. As you put effort through your education, you are freeing your brain and potential from its jail - ignorance. You are breaking those chains and removing those stones that are keeping you from progressing. How necessarily does it happen? Well, as you become more educated, in reality, you are becoming more aware of yourself and your surroundings. You come to notice some of the phenomena occurring right at that instant beside you and you start to think of the why or the how. It could be something as simple as to how a pancake becomes a pancake to something as complex as to how air traffic controls work. The limits and horizons of the thoughts you can develop during this time are endless. And as you develop these new thoughts of yours, you also come to know more of yourself. You come to realize what you think, and what that says about you. In my case, as I am working through my academic career, I come to realize who I am, I know what I want to do with my life, and I know what really matters to me. The truth is that, with education, you become more open-minded and ready to fend for yourself. Having an education is like a battle sword; you will be able to use it at any time for anything.
Education is Information and Decision-Making
In this chaotic and complex world, everything you and those around you have done had to come down from a choice. It could either be minor choices (spending free time) to more important choices (choosing a career). But, in order to make a choice, you have to be very careful and informed about what you will do; to be able to make those informed decisions, education will be the key to those doors. Think about what hit the world as hard as a bucket of cold water - the COVID pandemic. That period of mayhem was due to the fact that most of the world had not experienced such an event. That brought a lot of decision making at different scales including individual and community-wise. People had to decide how to quarantine themselves or how to prevent getting infected. However, at the end, the results of those decisions all came down to how informed and educated people were. People needed to be aware of what was going on, needed to learn from the correct people, and needed to act based on their judgment. And where education played a role is precisely there, it allowed for people to make those correct decisions based on what they knew. How? Because it informed people of what was going on; it gave solutions and lessons throughout the pandemic. For many people, myself included, education during that time was like a lifesaver because it saved many from making incorrect decisions.
Education For Change
In addition, because of the freedom of thought, awareness, and decision making that is allowed through education, there is room for improvement and change. As a person, education can shape who you are. In my own personal experience, I have changed throughout my academic career. Initially, during my early years of elementary (i.e, kinder, first, and second), I was an average student, not really performing better or worse than any of my classmates. However, as time went on, especially during my third grade, the wonder of education got me. I was interested in how numbers worked or what maps told me, and it came to tell me what I really liked. Not only was I now interested in reading geography books or learning my time tables, education gave me a new thought process that I can do more; that there is something else that I could strive for that I may not look at right away. Education, for now, is my journey, and as I’m trying to continue my path, I realize that I may want to share education with others. As education has released my whole self, with certainty, I am certain that I definitely want education to be involved in my future.
But maybe, wisdom at the end, is the final destination of my journey and education is just the byproduct. However, both wisdom and education paint a different picture, but honestly, I prefer education’s more detailed and specific picture which tells so much more.