The Future is Bright...Grab your Sunglasses by Tanna

The Future is Bright...Grab your Sunglasses by Tanna - August 2024 Scholarship Essay

I feel like when someone ask me what my future looks like, it tends to be a hard question to answer, for me at least. There was a point in time when my future was barely a lightbulb about to go out. My college experience has been anything but easy, but in this day and time, is anyone's? If someone would've told me I would be a future first generation graduate with a bachelor's in psychology, I would say they were lying. As a freshman back in 2017, I was a nursing major with a future in pediatrics. However, after experiencing a loss of someone close to me, I decided that being around an environment where so much heartache can occur was not in my future. I then changed my major to secondary education, with a future in teaching middle or high school science. This time, I allowed people to get into my head and tell me teaching would never be fulfilling or financially stable. So what did I do? Changed my major again, but this time to exercise sports science, with a future in high school athletics. I question myself sometimes with the exercise sports science switch considering I only played sports one year in high school and had no prior knowledge of athletic training or athletics. I stuck with for a while, and then I let people get into my head again with their discouragement and you guessed it, I changed my major again. I told myself this had to be the last time, and I couldn't keep changing my classes and majors. Going into my psychology classes, I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I went back and forth between a school counselor, psychologist, and even a board-certified behavioral analyst. But nothing seemed to fit. Entering any of those career fields meant a master's program with a thesis and much more coursework that I was not prepared for. I had been racking my mind over and over again; researching careers with a bachelor's in psychology. One day I had finally realized the common denominator between all of these previous majors and classes I had taken: kids. That's it, that's my future. I have been working with kids for many years, and every time I tried to find somewhere else to work, or volunteer in a different environment, it was never as fulfilling as working and volunteering with kids. Now to answer your question about my future education goals, there are many. First, I need to graduate which will happen in May of 2025. I have 21 credits left for my undergrad and I cannot wait to walk the stage. Then comes the big question that everyone asks, "well what now Tanna"? It's a hard question to answer still, but I am confident in my future plans. I would love to start a career at a high school teaching one of two subjects: English or biology. These two subjects have always been of my interest, and I would like to spread that interest and passion in a classroom. I w2ould eventually after a few years of teaching, enter a program to achieve my master's in an education program, or in one of the subjects I will be teaching. I have a niche for teaching and a passion for learning and helping others learn. I want to be the teacher students remember for her passion, integrity and willingness to learn not only from my personal studies, but from my future students as well. My future is bright not just because I am graduating, but because I finally believe in myself and my capabilities.