Michigan by Shreya

Michigan by Shreya - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

She told me I was a butterfly. I was small and quiet, even for my age, as a sixth grader, so to me the resemblance seemed uncanny. Of course I was like a butterfly. However, she then continued to describe one of the most brilliant stories I have ever heard in my 16 years of living. She told the tale of a butterfly who had just taken flight off of a flower in a beautiful garden. As the tiny creature flapped its small, seemingly insignificant wings, it caused a current. The changes in the wind were so slight that no one could possibly notice them. The butterfly was irrelevant- or so all would think.

In the weeks that passed the minuscule perturbations grew like falling dominoes collapsing others and like a snowball accumulates size rolling down a snowy hill. At the end of the road, weeks later, in an entirely different area, a hurricane struck. The seemingly insignificant wings of the tiny creature that flapped and caused an irrelevant current had created a hurricane. It was powerful. It was devastating. It was life altering for those at the top of the food chain- humans. And it was beautiful in its destruction.

Many would attribute its power to the larger currents that directly caused the strong winds and catastrophe. However, for every event there is a cause and every cause can be traced to the smallest of events- including the miniature flapping of butterfly wings.

My sixth grade English teacher told me that I was a butterfly. She told me that I had the ability and potential to cause a hurricane. She told me that I could create extraordinary change by taking small steps towards a greater good.

On the morning of my middle school graduation from eighth grade, in front of the 900 audience members, she announced that I, the graduation student speaker, was a sparkle. She told the butterfly story through a different lens. She explained that I would begin as this small child, a small ember, and grow to be a gorgeous display of fireworks.

Through my three years of middle school she taught me that the greatest changes can occur from the smallest stimulants. She taught me that the smallest person can make a enormous difference. She taught me that to be a butterfly or a sparkle is not insignificant- it is in fact the opposite. She taught me that I could cause a hurricane and become a show of fireworks. Even when I was no longer her student, she taught me to see my full potential.

With her conviction in place, I was able to flap my wings and create a butterfly effect for myself. I was able to grow like a fire and enter a path leading to a show of fireworks. The lesson she taught me is one that I will remember for a lifetime because she caused me to become a sparkling butterfly.