Education in my life by Leo

Education in my life by Leo - October 2022 Scholarship Essay

Education. When the word is spoken, it conjures images of students in a classroom, sitting, listening intently as a teacher who has much more experience then any of them shares knowledge obtained from ages of practice in that field, discovered by people who had committed their lives to this area of expertise, and eventually conveyed via word and pen to the classes that we sit in today. This image, however true, misses out on a vital part of education, education on field. This doesn't just mean practicing in a lab or a controlled environment, but finding and applying knowledge to life. This form of education happens everyday, and is just as if not more important then education in the classroom. Education is the essence of development, and to me, education is the epitome of life. A person is nothing without knowledge, and knowledge is best gained through an education.

Of course, not addressing the impact that classroom learning had upon me would be a travesty. Ever since I was a child, I had been with educated adults who helped me guide myself through adolescence with life skills and, of course, knowledge that planted the seeds of my academical love for math and English. I have always been an avid consumer of books, but I have to admit that without school, my ability to consume the books that contained the stories that shaped my childhood would have been stunted, if not nonexistent. The class library was a place of wonder, where I could take a book for free and latch onto it, allowing me to journey into a different world where my hardships weren't. At the time, I had trouble standing up for myself, leading to some of the other kids to take advantage of me, usually leading to my lunch to be divided in 12, or kids to pick on me a bit. Of course, I hold no grudges, but I feel that my elementary years would have been much more unbearable if I couldn't take solace in books. I also had found my love for the field of math, starting as soon as I took it upon myself to learn multiplication early. Math always had a right answer, and solving questions within my textbook was genuinely gratifying to my young self. Of course, the reach of academics didn't stop in elementary school. Through high school, academics have been incredibly enriching and I have loved all my classes and most of my teachers, although of course, my love of solving math questions at home has decreased to some level. Education in my future means success, success being measured by knowledge, the ability to make choices, and ability to support myself and family.

It is equally as vital to mention my on field education and how it has completely changed how I believe I'm going to pave a path into my future. I have now participated in 8 orchestras throughout my musical career, and without them, I don't believe that I would be half the person I am today. In these past years, I have learned the amount of dedication, passion, and intelligence it requires to be a professional musician. Thankfully, I have also found what wonderful gratification you can get from working hard to master a piece and finally getting your part right, what awe you can feel as you play a wonderful piece that has history around it that will never be told in school, and what friendship you can create from working with people in your section. I feel that I have learned just as much if not more by playing pieces for orchestra as i have while in a classroom.

Education to me, is the controlled development of knowledge and skills that have defined who I am today. throughout my life, education has helped develop life goals, find new passions, and meet people that share similar ambitions to me. Thanks to the people who have given me these opportunities, I am able to see and push to be the person I want to become.