Stairs of life by Maresa

Stairs of life by Maresa - December 2017 Scholarship Essay

I was taught by my beloved English teacher about the symbolic “stairs of life”. You may advance up a step or proceed down a step, but either way every single person on this Earth starts their journey with one step one. I have used this as my strategy for taking steps to ensure my academic success throughout my years.
At ten years old, I was a naive student ambassador for People to People, a program for children to interact with different cultures by travelling abroad. Luckily I was able to visit France and England. My group and I were so enthralled with the beauty of The Eiffel Tower that we almost missed our bus, out of breath and our hearts racing, we ran down the 669 stairs hastily. The same night I ate buttered frog legs and undercooked veil, a common meal for the locals. Some of my friends were squeamish and refused to try the food, but I was as curious as I was hungry. Looking back at it now, I’m glad that I tried it.
In my eleventh year of life I packed everything I owned with my mom and brother and moved to Australia. My family’s philosophies are always to keep our bags light and our hearts even lighter when it comes to starting new. I lived in Queensland for an entire year, playing soccer and surfing under the Gold Coast heat. I went from eating hamburgers in New York to being accustomed to a simple pescetarian diet, in which I still maintain to this day. It was a culture shock to say the least, but now I have a deeper appreciation for America’s lack of venomous spiders and snakes.
By the time I was twelve I took another essential step towards developing my voice. I wanted to conquer my fear of public speaking, and introduce myself to the world of literature. I started off small; I volunteered to read in my class aloud everyday despite the incessant beating of my heart. My esteemed English teacher, Ms. Grauerholz, noticed my strive for personal success and helped me along the way, offering her favorite books for me to read such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I’d admire the heroine in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett for her outspoken nature, wanting myself to be just as witty and expressive. Taking steps to hone this skill some five years later, I would always go first for presentations knowing that I set the bar high for other students in class and that I feel liberated when I spoke my mind. I put myself a step above the rest. With my newly found voice I hope to get a degree so that I can implement the law as a prosecutor in criminal justice.
“Baby steps” sounds like a lowly term, but in fact it is essential to moving up in the stairs of life. No one gets to the top easily, but I’m relentlessly working my way there. This is a strategy I will use throughout my academic career.