Independence Requires Leadership by Kyra

Independence Requires Leadership by Kyra - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

You are all moved in to your dorm. Everything is so different from home and it gives you butterflies just thinking about it! A new bedspread, a roommate, and dining hall food that replaces mom’s great cooking: there’s a lot to take in. With the new atmosphere comes a newfound independence. There is no doubt you’ll need to take care of yourself and lead your own life to succeed in college.

Because there is so much independence in college, there is a lot of decisions to be made. If you cannot allow yourself to make these decisions and lead your own life, you will not only hurt your college experience, but you can cause serious damage to your future career. The reason behind further education is to prepare for a career.

I was accepted to New York University, my dream school, to study drama at Tisch School of the Arts. The minute I stepped on campus I knew I was where I belonged. There is no doubt that as much as I adore the experience, it is hard to fully enjoy myself with a $72,000/year price tag hanging over my head. While some people would see this as a certain debt sentence, I see it as a reminder that this is worth more than anything in the world. If I was to throw away all that money and my dream of performing just to fit in with all the kids doing drugs, I would never be able to live with myself.

Being a leader doesn’t always mean showing other people the way. Being a leader means making decisions and taking care of yourself before worrying about the opinions of the people surrounding you. You can always make a choice between being a leader or being a follower, but I think we all know what is best for our future.