Be Yourself by Taylor

Be Yourself by Taylor - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

One of my favorite playwrights William Shakespeare once said, “To thine own self be true.” While I am sure you have heard be yourself since you were very young, I can say I wish that I would have listened to this advice a little more carefully during my first few high school years. I mean what young girl doesn’t want to be popular? While acting and performing have always been my talent and passion, I was afraid of what people would think of me. Soo freshman year I tried out for the high school cheerleading team. While I made the team, I remember many nights with my pillow crying because I was not like the other cheerleaders. After two years of being on the team, I started to realize that my popularity will not matter after high school, but what will matter is what you spent your time doing. So I decided to tryout for the school’s speech and debate team.

Joining the speech and debate team I figured I would look like a total nerd. I soon found out that there are many aspects of speech and debate. I joined one of the interpretation events which is a lot like acting. I had a great season and even qualified to the state tournament. My high school team ended up winning the tournament making us state champions. If I would have stuck with cheerleading for the popularity, I might not have had the opportunities that I had on the speech and debate.
Be yourself. It is a lot more fun that way. You might be like me and acting is you, or cheerleading could be your thing! But do what you love and do not let a title or other people sway your choices.