Create a Hashtag by Taylor

Create a Hashtag by Taylor - April 2018 Scholarship Essay

Beginning this fall, I will attend the University of Vermont. Four years of long nights and new heights later, I will receive a bachelor's degree in statistics and data science, with a minor in economics. I will move to some exotic city halfway across the country, find a data scientist job, and get married. We will proceed to enter middle-class suburbia, have kids, fund their education, and retire. Then, my children will care for me, and the cycle is complete. That's the plan commonly known as the American Dream.
But what if the Dream becomes a nightmare? What if I fail my classes? What if I fail to find a job? What if I fail to keep my job due to economic recession? And what if, after decades of succeeding, I fail to realize my accomplishments?
When I graduate from high school in two months and college in four years, I will participate in a commencement ceremony. A commencement means a "beginning or start." This is why I believe that education is a #beginning as opposed to an end. While it is essential in shaping one's path, it is only the #beginning of a long road to a final destination or objective. Education can come from anywhere and anyone. However, it is what one does with it that shapes the rest of their lives.
Therefore, education is only the #beginning of a long trip known a life.