When a lesson becomes a lifestyle by Leigh

When a lesson becomes a lifestyle by Leigh - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

The most important lesson I have learned from a teacher came when I was only 10 years old, yet has stayed resonating with me ever since. Just like most young kids, reading was never something that appealed to me; it seemed too 'adult' and less exciting than watching the latest super hero movie. Yet it was my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. S, and her passionate love of reading that inspired me to give something I had previously written off a true shot.
Throughout the first half of the school year, before I learned the most important lesson of all, Mrs. S proved to be one of my best teachers to date. She was kind, smart and caring, and was always pushing our class to do their best. She made her own love of reading known, even though it made her seem incredibly silly to a class of largely uninterested elementary school kids. It was out of the deep respect of her I had that I kept from scrunching up my nose and insisting "No way!", when she handed me a book to read she thought I would like. With advice from her to "Just give it a try" I went home with my new book.
Low and behold, once I got started reading that first book for pleasure, I could not stop. Within the week I had run back into her classroom, having absorbed every word from cover to cover, looking for more. Literature became one of my own biggest passions. I got lost in the words and explored all genres and styles. Reading kick started my imagination and proved to be even more fascinating and absorbing than that newest movie. It was a small push, but her words encouraging trying something with an open mind truly shaped my future.
From then on out, I spent as much time as I possibly could reading or checking out new books at the library. The passion she encouraged to grow followed me throughout the rest of my elementary years all the way to the present as a recent graduate of high school. As I now plan to continue my studies at my State University with a focus in English, I can truly say that having an open mind and trying something new is really the most important lesson to learn of all-one I will be forever grateful I was taught.