Be Present in Your LIfe by Shannon

Be Present in Your LIfe by Shannon - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Be proactive and present. I wish these two tiny, yet powerful words were spoken to me before I moved into college almost two full years ago. Do not let any one or any thing stand in your way of doing big things. My first semester at school, I found myself sitting back and hoping opportunities would be served to me on a silver platter, much like everything else had been in my life. I had no idea what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be, or how I was going to become who and what I wanted to be once I figured it out.
In December of my first semester, I discovered WHAT I wanted to be. Because of this, I was able to decide WHO I wanted to be: I became proactive and present. By February, I was shadowing speech pathologists and getting college credits for it. I was emailing and talking to people that mattered in the field and mattered at my school. I was being proactive to get my foot in the same door that I wanted, one day, to be able to walk through. I had an internship as a first-year student because I became someone that did not expect to be handed anything,
Almost a year later and I am looking forward to shadowing at a rehabilitation center for people with traumatic brain injuries this upcoming summer. I am involved in clubs for speech students and two honor societies, I am studying abroad next summer, I am graduating early. I am proactive. I am present in my life.
If I could give younger students one piece of advice, I would say “Do not expect anything without working for it yourself.” Work so hard at everything you do so that in the end, you can be proud of what you’ve accomplished. Be proactive so you can be proud.