Everything Counts by Phoebe

Everything Counts by Phoebe - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

All throughout high school, we are bombarded with questions. We are expected to know what careers to pursue, what interests to entertain, what values to uphold, and, perhaps most frighteningly, what type person we expect to become. It is easy to get caught up in this whirlwind of speculation, to become obsessed with this narrowing window of opportunities. Far too often, I've spent so much time fixating on these impossibly broad inquiries that I've utterly neglected the questions that come and go by the minute. What can I do to ease the troubles of my family? What can I say to my friends to let them know how much I value them? How can I be of help in this moment, in the instance that floats passively by, waiting to be seized?
To end a period of my life brimming with questions, I will leave behind an answer, one which I wish I had been given from the beginning: Everything counts.
You may think that this statement is perhaps a bit too general. I would not blame you. It is all too easy to dismiss the idea that every bite of food we take, every line of dialogue spoken, every breath and step and smile given or taken has any type of significance. However, significance exists in many forms. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, you can choose to eat PB&J instead of ham and cheese. If you want to change the policies at your school, you can write a letter or hold a conversation with someone of authority. If you want to brighten someone’s day, even just a little, you can sacrifice no more than a fraction of a second to smile. These are the ideals that I want to live my life by, and encourage others to consider, as well.
Time will inevitably pass, and each second will hold an infinite number of possibilities- of questions- which may either go unnoticed, or may change the state of the world. This is a truth that has existed long before high school, and will surely continue to exist long after. It is something that I plan to recognize no matter where I am or who I am with. At any second, I have an opportunity to better the world, no matter how minuscule the action may seem. And at the end of any journey, I hope to reflect on my actions with the knowledge that they left the state of the world in a better place than it was in before. When I look back at my quote in the high school yearbook, I will hope that it resonated with someone in the same way that it continues to resonate within me.