The Value of Classes by Lauren

The Value of Classes by Lauren - August 2016 Scholarship Essay

While each of my classes have taught me many valuable lessons, the one I have learned most from is English. I’ve always loved to enjoyed English, but it wasn’t until my freshman year of high school that I was taught something that other classes couldn’t offer: English taught me my life’s passion.
Up until my freshman year of high school, I was set on going to college to study Culinary Arts and wanted a job as a pastry chef. However, the first year of high school changed the path my life will take. At the start of my English class, I wasn’t too keen on the new teacher, as his teaching style was incredibly different than other teachers and we did not get along well. Although his style was different, I was learning like I never had before. I learned to not just read a book, but deeply analyze its context and understand its meaning. When it came time to write essays about the novels, my writing voice took its true form. During my freshman year, I found that writing essays and reading was not a chore to me. When I started to greatly enjoy writing analytical essays, it led me to think “what if writing is something I was meant to do?” At the end of my freshman year, my desire to be a pastry chef had almost entirely disappeared, as I discovered what I should study as I go off to college.
My love of writing has helped in not only English, but helps me grow in my other classes as well. In my junior year, I took a history course that required frequent amounts of in depth research and writing on particular topics, making each set of homework like a research paper. At first, I was far from thrilled to have to put in so much work for the class, but my writing skills took over and I began to look forward to studying new topics. Because most of the course was taught by having students write small papers, I was able to fine tune my writing and have a chance to write something other than analytical essays, thus stretching my writers voice. By writing about history, I began to see the subject in a new light.
From my English class, I have found what I am to do with my life. English has helped me grow not only as a writer, but in my other subjects as well. I so enjoyed writing for my history course this year that I am now considered pursuing a double major in both Journalism and History.