From Tea Parties to Aiding the War Effort by Michelle
Michelleof Palm Harbor's entry into Varsity Tutor's June 2017 scholarship contest
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From Tea Parties to Aiding the War Effort by Michelle - June 2017 Scholarship Essay
What do you want to be when you grow up? The majority of six-year-olds would reply to this question with something along the lines of a princess or a knight or even a pirate. I like most little girls dreamed of attending royal balls and having the finest luxuries. I remember waltzing around my kitchen on my father’s arm and throwing tea parties with my younger sisters where we sipped tea from chipped teacups and nibbled on frosted cookies piled high on china plates.
However, when I was seven years old I woke up from my daydream. The breaking of the magical spell cast on me was vital to my transition from first grade to second as it opened my eyes to a whole new world beyond damsels in distress and knights slaying dragons. I turned to tales of magic and mystery. My first visit to the school library allowed me to cultivate my passion for fantasy novels which would later provide a foundation for my interest in literature.
During this time I realized that I wanted to be a veterinarian. At the time I was taking horseback riding lessons and I most assuredly attribute riding lessons to my love for all creatures big and small. I became so enthralled with animals that I even made it my response to the ever-present question of “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. Even reading a plethora of informative books from my library on dogs, cats, horses of all breeds could not curb my infatuation. Now, my mother was a voice of reason during this time. She told me that it would be highly unlikely that I would be able to get a job in this field and that it would be very impractical for me to do so as I was allergic to dogs and cats. Also, I was suffering from eczema further proving my mother’s point. She was right of course which meant that I would give up my dream of pursuing a career in veterinary medicine.
At eight years of age, after watching the 2008 Olympic Summer Games, I decided that I wanted to be a professional volleyball player. My muse was Misty May. I recall seeing her play and scoring multiple aces. She and her partner won gold and the allure of fame and fortune called to me. My mother actually came from Colombia on a volleyball scholarship as she was part of the national team. She also taught as a coach during her university years in the states so from her practical point of view she told me that I was too small to ever consider volleyball as a professional sport and that if I was even to have a chance at playing I would have to be in the back digging the ball. That crushed my hopes of becoming a world renowned athlete and so at ten years of age, I became more focused on singer-songwriter career and or one in professional dancing. After coming to the conclusion that a career in any of these fields would be full of strife, my interests derived from another source.
At thirteen years of age I became interested in being an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and two years later I wanted to become a drone pilot. When I was sixteen I took a forensics course on Florida Virtual School and I fell in love with this subject. I considered going after a career as a forensic scientist but since then my career plans have changed.
Currently, at 17 years of age, I am pursuing other fields of study. I have taken into account my skill-sets. My affinity for languages as grown over the course of my education and this is evident as I am taking college level Spanish, French, and literature as part of the International Baccalaureate Program. I have become passionate about using my gifts to help others which is why I have decided to major at the University of Florida in languages and literature; perhaps Russian, Arabic or Mandarin. Furthermore, I hope to serve my country with the talents I have in the military.
This summer I am planning on in doing an internship with the Tarpon Springs Police Department and I hope to further my education and these areas so that one day I can achieve my goal of becoming a linguist and that I will be able to one day translate for the United Nations.