The Importance of Further Education by Leila

The Importance of Further Education by Leila - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

It is no secret that education makes the world go round. Education provides people with numerous opportunities for jobs, wealth, and meaningful experiences. Through pursuing further education in college, I hope to reap these benefits and become intellectually sound, while developing a strong character.
As a Latina-Iranian mix, I am a victim of harsh stereotypes about my academic ideals and overall intelligence level. I hate to be the person who is so stubborn and goes so far to prove a point, but I believe pursuing an education is so important to me as I want to prove everyone wrong. Doubts about my academic capacity for further education follow me everywhere, and I want to show that I can be more than the typical Latina High school dropout. Though this stubbornness was the root of my desire to go to college, I feel as though I have worked too hard to not pursue a further academic career in life, and I know I can do great things if given the opportunity to do so.
Beyond the harsh stereotypes serving as my encouragement, my parents are immigrants who grew up poor and migrated to the U.S. to give me and my family the best future possible. I want to go to get an education to make my parents proud, and to prove that this American Dream they me for was all worth it. The plethora of sacrifices they have made just to give me the best opportunities in life are truly admirable, and I want them to know that their hard work has paid off. I hope to go to college and make a name for myself through a career pathway in law so that I can turn around and return the investment and sacrifices they have made in order to provide the best standard of living they could for me.
Though I care about impressing others, I honestly hope to get a further education so that I can get a fresh start in a strong academic school where I can further my pursuit of knowledge while feeling a part of a large community. My driven attitude has been proven to be beneficial in my academic efforts, but I feel as though I have lost the high school experience of adolescence due to such harsh expectations I have put on myself. I hope that receiving a college education provides me with the fresh start I need to start living life in an exciting way through new experiences and meeting new people. Being able to have that reset is so important to me as I can be who I am and focus on surrounding myself around individuals who lift me up; something I struggled to do while staying in the same friend group for years in K-12. Education is so important to me as I know it can provide me with the right opportunities and people to make me the best person I can possibly be while having the opportunity to make my family proud.