A Class With No Rubric by Todd

A Class With No Rubric by Todd - November 2013 Scholarship Essay

There are so many subjects to be studied at any school you attend. It is truly amazing the vast amount of knowledge that can be tapped into even in a seemingly simple high school. One can map out the maze of mesmerizing mathematics or leap along the lofty lane of language; he can thrive in the thrills of theatre or harbor the heights of history! But as I look back on all that I have learned stumbling through the rugged path that makes up a high school career, there is one class that affected me far more than any of the others. This subject cannot be found on a new student’s schedule or a graduate’s transcript: it is the solidifying subject of Self.

In those crowded hallways that I looked at with both dread and excitement, I learned how to create myself. As I discovered new interests and participated in new clubs and activities, I learned that my instructors not only understood geography or geology, but each one had their own life story, journeys they had chosen to become who they are. Each project and paper not only contained politics or prose, but a preview of the potential percolating within me to create, change, expose, arrange! This run-down brick building held within its seasoned walls hundreds of futures, interacting and aligning and transforming into something newer every day. One of those futures was my own.

The most valuable thing that I learned in high school is that nothing is set in stone. There is no problem without a solution, no mystery without explanation, no idea without merit, and no man without a future. Those instructors, who became dear friends, that taught me how to take initiative—and to help others do the same—are the reason I will now implant myself into the world and make a difference for the better. I define my influence and identity. And so can every other person on this brilliant, messy, incredible planet.