Simply, why I want to go to college. by Nathaniel

Simply, why I want to go to college. by Nathaniel - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

I had always seen education as something to advance in. In elementary school and onwards, I would think of grade levels as competition, that the better I do in a level the more successful I will become. Though once high school came, I sort of felt like there wasn't much to really advance in, as if there was a limit to how much I could go further. At times I had questioned whether I wanted to keep doing this, if I really wanted to go for another 4 or even 8 years of learning and ‘leveling’ and burning myself out. But, only until recently had I found the reason for my contemplations. I realized that the way I thought of it was invalid. The thought of education being a system of leveling and this repeating pattern in itself only seems to eventually lead to a point of wearing out. Though I had contemplated if academic life was supposed to be this way; grueling, a waste of time, or expensive, I realized so much more was to be found, I just had to turn the page.

With this newfound realization, the outlook for me isn’t about leveling or that academic success is grueling, a waste of time, or expensive. I see it as more opportunity to find out all the questions and wonders of the world. A strong quote I believe follows my ideals is by Albert Einstein: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” It really took away the basis of thinking of school as something I have to get over with, rather, I want to expand my knowledge and eventually pursue something that I am passionate about.

So about the question “Why do you want to go to college?” I would answer it with “I do not have a specific answer to that question.” I feel as if there are so many answers that I could list out for that question, but I will try my best to only talk about my top 5. I want to go for the experience, the independence, the opportunities, the community, and the future. With all of those, I know that I will have fulfilled my college life, though I am sure I will come across more ‘why do you want to..’ questions post college. With the endless limits and possibilities for myself, I feel unstoppable; a force to be reckoned with. So to explain…

For the Experience! I had been told by many of my college friends, and family members that had gone to college, that most of their favorite memories and moments all came from college. College is the first years in which most people become adults, and I believe that it is truly something that I want to indulge myself in. College life sounds so fun, full of new experiences, and new people that I would love to participate in.

For Independence! As it is the first few years of my life as an adult, it would also be the first few years that I could experience being an adult. And that means to live alone away from family. Though that saddens me to be away, it does bring a newer feeling of independence that I will eventually need to learn to have. I see it as a positive as it is an experience to live away on my own, that I can finally be a grown up like I have always dreamed of being from a kid.

For the Opportunities! College comes with vast educational opportunities that I want to take in order to test myself. I am the kind of person who hates to not know about something, so with college, I want to learn a lot and excel in my studies.

For the Community! I hear a lot of things in college are towards participation, and I believe that it is something I want to embrace. The embodiment of a community, to meet new people and have new friends, is something that really gets me going. Going to football games, clubs, or group organizations is what I look forward to.

For the Future! I believe college is a place where you get to know the real you, where you can truly understand yourself and get to know yourself better as a person. With that, I want to embrace college life, so that I can be prepared for the future ahead, and still as something that I am very excited about.

I said that I would only talk about 5 but I had left out an important one: For Myself! To have security within oneself is what I believe as the greatest gift to life. If you do not know yourself then how could you be prepared or ready for anything part of life? I learned that loving yourself is such an important part to life, probably the most important part actually. Without security there can be feelings of loneliness, insecurity, and a lack of trust or mindfulness all towards yourself that could prevail. Finding myself is what allowed me to not only love myself, but to see myself in the future as a successful person, with the same kind, caring, and understanding qualities in which I love so greatly about myself. With all that said, that is why I want to go to college.