My Journey of Discovering my Future Self by Vi

Viof Ashburn's entry into Varsity Tutor's June 2017 scholarship contest

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Vi of Ashburn, VA
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My Journey of Discovering my Future Self by Vi - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

If you ever asked me what I would like to become when I grow up, I would give a whole heap of different answers depending on when you asked me that question. Everyone is born to carry out their one unique purpose to contribute to the well-being of the world. Education gives us a glance to our journey of self-discovery, determining what we truly want to see ourselves in the future. Throughout my eleven-year journey of education, my childlike mind has been polished and sharpened as I was exposed to different aspects of life. If I were to be asked to compare myself when I was six years old to who I am today, it would be drastic difference regarding the ability to realistically picture the future.
Who does not dream the impossible when being a kid? Although I am now a young adult, the pictures of myself as a little kid are still engraved in my heart not fading away with time. When I was six years old, all of what I could think of the future was a blurry picture with me being a helpful member of the society, rescuing people who might need help. When I entered elementary school, I was a sickly child who would come to the doctor’s office periodically like any other child would go play at the playground. I was asked what I wanted to become when I grew up; such an unwavering answer came out of the tongue without me having the second thought, “I want to be a doctor”. It made sense to me at the time since being a doctor would put a red cape on my back, saving thousands of lives include myself. I felt like this was what I was created to become. Even my parents encouraged me to go after my “dream” of being a doctor, it was not yet a dream but a desire to stand out. I was so determined and certain that I would become a doctor no matter what. But then education did not seem to like the idea of me being in the medical field, it taught me how the human body works from the most life’s complex and microscopic living cells which did not make sense to me at all. The whole future thing got all messed up when education, the teaching of things, jumped in and interrupted the dream that I wished would come true but never knew much of.
Once again, education had changed my life’s direction pushing the true me to shift gear to a whole new different career path. For the first time of my life, I started to wonder why it is so hard to discover what I truly enjoy in doing. I felt so uncertain and frustrated for the fact that I had “solidly” made up mind of being a doctor but now things got hard and I could not decide which way was the best for me. I finally accepted the failure of the previous plan and started to nourish another whole new seed of my future self. I participated in a tutoring program to expose myself to what a normal teacher did. As expected, the whole teaching thing did not last long. I gave up after all and decided that opportunities would find their way to get to me anytime soon in the future when I was matured enough to draw my own life.
There definitely is a reason behind why students must spend twelve years in school to just figure out what career is right for them. I have changed my mind currently to being a pharmacist prior to entering my junior year in high school. It all just happened at a blink of an eye, accidentally and unexpectedly. My teacher happened to notice my enthusiasm in chemistry, it was like a “spark” in my eyes every time we did labs, she describes. I then decided to go in-depth with science and I found my heart in joy every time I checked out science-related books from the library. It might seem that I came back to where I started, but this time it is clearer and it is in a different perspective for I have learned what it takes to be in the medical field.
Being in school and getting involved in different specialized fields got me thinking about the future in a more mature viewpoint. Observing myself going through different stages in life, from the time when I started to learn the alphabet to the time when I was taught the most complicated things, it is interesting how education has shaped the way I view the hidden picture of my true self and how the unknown future unfolds. As I take a step up the stairs of education, going from an elementary schooler to a junior in high school, I realize that my understanding and interpretation of future have changed, from a blurry picture to a more detailed and realistic image. Despite what Sydney J. Harris said, “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows,” to me education turns “windows” into “mirrors” giving me a chance to reflect on my true self and have a quiet talk to my heart, away from what the society expects from me.

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