Knowing is Enough by Nikoma

Knowing is Enough by Nikoma - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

Alice Walker, a famous activist, poet and author of many books, including "The Color Purple," once said "the most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." These words do much to describe me and the America I grew up in. Everybody is just as powerful as they want to be. Everything is relative, based on perspective. The secret to power is simply knowing you have it.

I've never really struggled in school, mostly because I knew that, with some hard work, any success was possible. The only limits I had on what I learned were limits I gave myself. If something was difficult, I would simply work to find a way to change my approach so that I could understand and conquer it, rather than just think myself unable and admit defeat. I learned early on to empower myself and it has served me well throughout my educational career.

The people I see struggling with life, for the most part, struggle more because of a lack of motivation than anything else. They don't want to solve the problems themselves, they want somebody to do it for them and so they sit and complain instead of stand and work. Later on these same people find no solution has appeared and the woes have only increased. If they really wanted to change their situation, to improve not only their own world but the whole world, they need to stop talking and start doing. Be the change, don't wish for it to happen. There are no magic lamps around here.

We all have power. We all have the power to learn, to take care of ourselves, to change the world. Great leaders share a few common characteristics; charisma, confidence, initiative. These leaders got to the top by believing themselves worthy, by saying 'I am the one to lead these people forward.' They knew they had the power and reaped the benefits of this knowledge. Carpe diem.