Inspiration Personified by Sheena

Inspiration Personified by Sheena - September 2013 Scholarship Essay

Ever since I was a little girl, the importance of education has been lectured to me. Of course at eight years old, the words used to float through one ear and exit the other. I could not be concerned with education because my entire cricket team was outside waiting for me. All I cared about was winning the match. However, when my cousin, Shondel, spoke to the words, I listened. Maybe its because she understood my need to have fun but when she was the one giving the speech, I did not feel like a child being lectured, I felt like a friend taking the advice of the other. Shondel is nine years my senior. I remember that she used to do her homework at the dining table and I used to just watch her. Of course, I had no idea what she was talking about using words like ‘electron configuration’ or ‘oxymoron’ at the time. But what I loved to see, more than I loved my cricket, was the pride on her face when she figured out a difficult problem. From then on I would look in the mirror as I did my homework because I wanted to see if I was capable of that expression. And to my surprise and utter jubilation, I was. My mother was a bit shocked to see me in a hurry to do homework but she obviously had no objections. The pride was not directly about reaching an answer, it was about knowing that because I worked hard on a certain problem, I reached my answer. I enjoyed the fruits of my labor. It was in fifth grade when I first touched the ninety percentile for my overall grade. This was an Aha moment for me. Because I realized that studying is not so bad if this was the result. At my celebratory dinner my cousin reminded me of her words: “Hard work always pays off”. At the time she said it, I scoffed because I thought that nothing could be worth this tortuous and arduous journey of studying but of course, I was wrong. Shondel went on to pass her final exams with such flying colors that a prestigious institution called President’s College recruited her and asked her to join them for the remaining years of her high school career and then she received a full scholarship to college. I was so proud of her that all of my classmates knew of her success. My admiration was warranted because Shondel came from a household that struggled financially but in spite of, or maybe because of these hurdles, she succeeded. She was a flower in a mud puddle that refused to be a product of her environment. This determination fueled her will and took her to great heights. Ever since, Shondel has been known as the scholar of the family. However, when we spoke recently and I told her about my experiences in an American school, she said that I might steal her title. I told her that we could share it. I have this need to succeed that she inspired. I do intend on going to college and I will be one of the few people in my family to receive a college education.