A New Mentality by Lavanya

A New Mentality by Lavanya - September 2017 Scholarship Essay

As I sat back in the library chair, I watched the employees help children find the books they wanted. I took note of the adults patiently tutoring children. I made sure not to miss the teenagers who were reading to the toddlers in the back of the room. I was amidst so many kind people. However, in the back of my head, I couldn’t help but wonder how their demeanor would change if they were given a role of authority. This might be a strange thing to question, but not if one has just finished reading The "Lucifer Effect" by Philip Zimbardo. Initially, I had picked it up as part of a Psychology project. But now, I was beginning to question everything.

In other classes, it would be easy to sit in the back of the room and mindlessly copy notes from the board. In other classes, one can memorize all the necessary terms and just show up to take the test. In other classes, one can just forget all the information when the semester is over. This simply isn’t the case in Psychology. In Psychology, the questions posed by the teacher are incredibly thought-provoking, and you can’t help but wonder about the ‘why’ behind everyday actions. In Psychology, you start to see examples of the phenomena learned in class everywhere around you. In Psychology, you can never forget what you have been taught. This class isn’t about memorizing facts, for it involves walking through life with a brand new mentality.

In many ways, Psychology represents the purpose of education itself. Sometimes, it can be so easy to get caught up in the stress of final exams and huge projects that we can forget the true purpose of coming to school. We come here not only to learn, but to broaden our horizons. We come here to expose ourselves to perspectives and opinions different from our own. Most importantly, we attend school to learn to become critical thinkers, rather than memorizers. This is what Psychology has helped me realize, and it has completely transformed my outlook towards school.

Suddenly, I became a thinker in every class. In AP Language and Composition, I questioned how the author has crafted his or her argument to be most persuasive. In AP Calculus BC, I began wondering if the same concept that is used to measure the slope of the tangent line could be used to calculate the slope of the secant line. In AP Biology, I considered whether recombinant DNA could be used to better understand and cure human diseases. Gone were the days during which I sat in the back of the room quietly. With my newfound curiosity, I turned into an active participator in my own education.

Taking Psychology my junior year has reminded me of the purpose of school. It has taught me that I will get out of my education what I put in. It has given me the power to take control of the opportunities that have been given to me and use them to my full advantage, learning everything I possibly can. Ten years from now, I may not remember the location of the hippocampus in the brain. I might not be able to recall how to use Newton’s method to find the roots of a function. However, I will always be a curious thinker.