Imagination, Activities, and Values: My Hypothetical Gap-Year by Samuel

Imagination, Activities, and Values: My Hypothetical Gap-Year by Samuel - August 2019 Scholarship Essay

Imagination is a healthy practice.
I say so because the few hundred words that lie on the page below this line will be filled with activities that perhaps could have been a reality for me, but now are quite unlikely. Why? Well, for one thing, I’m already a sophomore in college, and taking a pause right now would keep me away from my studies, which I’ve been itching start up again since about two weeks into the summer. And secondly, in high school I sort of did the opposite of a gap year, by graduating a year early. Thus, I issue that beginning statement to do my best to justify my glancing back in time and imagining (healthily, mind you) what it would have been like to do a gap year.
I’ll start by not saying what the stereotypical scholarship judging board wants to hear, which is that gorgeous statement that can, in the right circumstances, send the money flittering in: “I want to help people.” For better or for worse, my career aspirations are not that. Rather, they are to help people…learn dead languages. Yes, I want to become a college professor of said (dead) languages. But in order to do that someday, to put it in a selfish-sounding way with the sinister first-person reflexive, I must first help MYSELF learn these languages. That’s exactly what I would spend a great deal of my gloriously dreamed-up gap year doing—poring over old texts, consulting dictionaries, and chanting out conjugations. Ah, the life.
But wait—there’s more. Studying one discipline will sure get you good at it, but (like I said) THERE'S MORE to life than just one subject. I’d set myself a daily set of things to study: poetry, literature (I’d do lots of reading), history, economics, astronomy, the weather, plants, philosophy—yes, even math and science. And I’d correspond with friends and discuss all of these subjects with them in order to gain a richer understanding of them. And I’d certainly write about them (and things in general) too, since there’s something about writing that brings a deeper "you" out of yourself and richness out of everything else.
Another area in which I would be deeply involved in this gap year would be music. Sadly separated from my college’s beloved Men’s Glee Club, I’d find myself another choir to sing in. I’d also volunteer in my church playing piano for the worship part of the services, something I’ve done in years past (on both the piano and Paraguayan harp). And I’d practice both instruments a good deal, and jam out on hymns and ‘70s Christian choruses with musician friends, and go to classical concerts—given the means to afford them.
Having mentioned church, another thing I would like to do during this time would be serving in the children’s ministry, teaching Sunday School. Being a camp counselor for two summers has brought me to a fond love for small children, and this would give me a great means by which to spend time with them and teach them.
Life would, as always, be draining if there weren’t some physical activity pumping life into it. In my gap year, I would find some folks to play soccer with, and one or two other people to go running with. I’d play plenty of ping-pong, and some racquetball too. “But,” says the worry-wort in me, “those just seem awfully…well, FUN, to bring up in a scholarship essay!” Hey, what’s life without some fun? And sports are more than just fun, too; they’re team-building, skill-developing, and discipline training, as well.
During my gap year, I would also like to be involved in some meaningful work besides just studying—something, preferably, that would strike a nice chord with my interests. Something like tutoring in Spanish, or Ancient Greek, would be exceptional; translating in Spanish would really be fun, too, whether written or in-person. Maybe I’d find a job at the local library—there’s something about libraries that breathe life into you, whispered through the pages of thousands of books sitting in all their potential on the shelves. This wouldn’t be a payed job, but getting involved in an elementary school after-school program would also be extremely rewarding and enjoyable, not to mention a learning experience for me. (Learning through teaching really is a thing.) Continuing on the track of non-payed activities, I might intern at the local newspaper, or write newsletters for some kind of interest group. Opportunities abound; what I’d look for is something that I’d enjoy, and that would be a learning experience for me.
I hope that, through that long list of "would’s," a little bit of who I am and what I care about shines through. In particular, I note the recurring themes of learning and being involved in my community. While my gap year as described here is imaginary, those values of mine aren’t; and I know that, wherever I am in life, those are values that I will pursue and live out.