The Skill of Giving by Rachel

The Skill of Giving by Rachel - January 2022 Scholarship Essay

The year 2020 was exhausting for many of us. We were bombarded with constant news, incessant health and social justice updates. As a result, I began to close off, not just socially and emotionally but also with my academics. Why should I care about my student government position? How could a school photography club help us now? In what world was learning calculus going to help the state of everything?
In 2021, I finally realized that this mindset was a problem. I had started applying for colleges, started planning out my entire future, and I discovered that I wasn't excited about any of it. The dreams and goals that I had visualized since middle school were no longer making me happy. Something was wrong.
So I decided to make a change. Instead of signing up for classes that I thought would look the best on my transcript, I signed up for classes that were interesting to me, classes with teachers who I adored. I started a new club, one with a mission close to my heart: gender equality in STEM. Sure, we don't boast the most student participation, but the weekly meetings are time well spent. I started giving 100% to every assignment, no matter how small. When asked to write a brief paragraph about the history of the judicial branch for my government class, I wrote three pages about the need for more diverse judges in the United States. When taking notes from my chemistry textbook, I focus on finding joy in every reaction mechanism and electron configuration.
Now, in 2022, I hope to continue to practice this skill of giving my all. I can no longer be the closed off, robotic student I once was. In order to find success in college and beyond, I have to care. No matter how exhausting or draining it seems in the moment, I will always give 100%.