Teachers Teach More by Monica

Teachers Teach More by Monica - November 2013 Scholarship Essay

There are two parts of high school that people will say are significant: the social aspect and the education. When I ask my parents about their experience, they usually reflect on the people they hung out with and the classes they took. So when I am asked about the most valuable lesson I’ve learned, I immediately think of the things I’ve learned from my friends or the interesting things I’ve learned in my classes. But when I really think about it, the most underrated part of the high school is what has made the most impact on me: the teachers. Teachers have affected me in positive and negative ways, and have taught me how to view myself in a positive way.

I was in an all girls show choir, a group that competes at singing and dancing, for my sophomore and junior year, and in this group, the director and choir teacher for the school truly changed my life. He taught me that other people are always going to be better than me, that hard work gets you no where, and that it’s okay to do terrible things as long as you are a winner. Well, that’s what he tried to teach me. As you can see, not too many valuable lessons were learned from this man, and he brought my, and many other’s, self confidence to an all time low. I started to define myself by show choir, I wasn’t enjoying it as much as some of the other people were, did that make me weird? So when audition time came for my final year, and I didn’t make the mixed group, I continued to let it affect me, does this mean I’m not good enough? I started to question everything about myself, until finally my eyes were opened by another teacher of mine.

When I was going through this hard time, I reached out to the theatre teacher at my school, and he truly has become a large influence on my life. I was in class one day when I just had a breakdown and started crying, and he pulled me aside and talked me through the problems. I explained how I was feeling, and he told me that I have to realize I am more than what other people see me as, and hearing this from him helped me look at the situation in a new light. I realized that I am what I make of myself, and I should not let other people define who I am for me. If I wasn’t enjoying show choir, why should I stay in it? I should use my time, money, and effort into something that is beneficial to everyone. He may not realize it, but he honestly impacted me more than most anyone I have met through high school, and taught me a very valuable lesson.

These men helped me realize a huge lesson I still live by today: I have to be me. I cannot let anybody belittle me or make me feel inferior. One teacher taught me this lesson by trying to bring me down, and the other by lifting me up. So now I look at teachers in a new way: before, they were just nagging people always trying to give me homework, and now I realize, as ridiculous as it sounds, that teachers really are genuine people. They chose their job because they want to make an impact and they want to teach me about everything in life, whether it be educational or moral. So I will go into my college experience with the same ideas in mind: stay true to myself, and do not let anyone else change who I am.