College Admissions Essay: The Importance Of Education

Here I am, wanting to leap off this uncomfortable green couch and beat my head against a wall to try and write a paper and remember the times when I was younger and probably attempting to do the same thing. I am positive literacy has played a big role in my academic life; otherwise I would not be sitting in a lounge on a college campus trying to write an autobiography. Unfortunately, it has not made a significant dent in my life outside of school. The days where I decided “Hey! I’m going to sit down and read this book,” are few and far between. I can probably count all the books I read for pleasure on my hands from the past ten years, and the amount of written work I composed outside of academic papers and text messages are not much more.

Once you’ve been in school for nearly 12 years of your life you think you know all of the tricks to conquering the school year. When a problem arises you think you know the easy way out of it or the perfect way to avoid it. Some kids probably believe that as you continue on through your education these problems will just simply decrease. As a junior in high school, I’ve come to find that that assumption couldn’t be more false. High school came as a scare to me and I felt that I was the only one going through those typical teenage problems; however, after reading How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, by Paul Tough, I began to gain some of my confidence back.

Drucker, H (2012, May). Going Back to College as an Adult: The Benefits. Retrieved from

I am a girl who grew up with low income. Along with that my parents are both deaf alone with my big sister I watch after who has down syndrome. My father is no longer in my life so it’s my responsibility to take care of them. This isn’t a sob story about how awful my life sounds but how much I embrace it. Without my responsibilities I would have never grown to handle so many things I have accomplished. I was able to take college courses at Normandale Community College for free through Post Secondary Education Option (PSEO). I will also become my sister’s legal guardian this early summer. I work two jobs and try really hard to make sure I’m doing well in my classes along with making sure my family is okay. Why I am saying all this is because I feel like I

Across the generations of my family, I see a trend towards both a higher education and a higher salary as generations are born. The oldest generation I was able to find information on was just two poor uneducated farmers. The next generation was a majority of farmers and other low salary jobs. They also had a majority of grade school educations. But on my Mother’s side some of my relatives began to get high school educations. With this education they became a store owner, tool and die maker, and a railroad engineer. All representing that a higher education can lead to a more successful life. The third generation of my family tree was a majority of average working class individuals who the majority of had a high school education at best. The

Whenever the girls volleyball team runs sprints, I always scream, “I love this!” at the top of my lungs. But not everyone on the team is quite as excited as I am, so I am met with harsh stares and confused looks. Though all our bodies burn and there are a million other things I rather be doing, I constantly try to convince myself in practice that I love doing things that make my body fill with pain. I, in a sense, “fake it ‘till I make it”. But I rather call it optimism, a quality that dictates my life.

The purpose of education to me is freedom and have a happy, comfortable life. I was told by whole family that with education can help you to be anyone and go anywhere. It was also support by one of the most influential chiefs of the Navajo people, Chief Manuelito who said, “Grandchildren education is the ladder.” Every time I hear that quote, I understood that education is a tool to get you a good life or to go somewhere. My family wasn’t wealthy and struggle with the bills and my parent told me if they completed or went to college they will be living a more comfortable life. In my opinion, they taught me to be grateful of the things they gave me and to understand that I can’t have everything I wanted. With their support, my sister and I was determined to get good grades and work hard with our school work. Even in college I will keep that determination that I had in high school. So, I can get that diploma and start living a comfortable life or still pursue a higher degree.

Some might call it “nosey” or “annoying”, but I've always favored the term “curious”. From a young age, my thirst for knowledge has been unquencable and well-known to those around me. My parents, teachers, and any other adults within an earshot were plagued by my constant questions. By the age of six, I had become obsessed with finances. I felt like I needed to know every last detail of people's fiscal affairs. Unfortunately, my six-year-old self was too young to realize that this was considered distasteful. Often at night, while my dad sat at the dining room table to pay his bills and balance his checkbook, I would accompany him. My interrogation into his finances was unrelenting, and most of the time he would comply. Whether he wanted me

The future is like a present that we are dying to open and find out what it holds. Obviously, we hope what we want is inside the present. There are several things us humans are expecting from the future. Whether it is flying cars or robots taking over the world, we all have some high expectations. I actually have a few expectations myself.

My parents have placed a great example above my eyes by always encouraging me to follow my dreams and to study. What is college education? To me it means getting a degree, certification or a diploma plus a higher paying job. Certification, diplomas, and degrees differ in the time it takes to achieve them. An academic degree can be earned at many levels, my plan is to graduate high school with an associate’s degree.

Life always presents you great opportunities to succeed, but it is you who must decide whether to take them or leave them. This scholarship is a great opportunity for me to continue investing in my own education, since I consider it to be my number one priority, and as I believe that education is the key to impact and motivate others through one’s own testimony, and to also inspire others to pursue their own goals .

My education is my responsibility, no one can hand it to me, it cannot be bought, it can only be earned and worked for. You can pay for college, but that does not automatically mean that you are paying for an education. A person can attend class everyday and choose to not learn. It is a fact that I am going to need an education if I am going to have a comfortable lifestyle. Careers and jobs are becoming exceedingly competitive, leaving the best opportunities to those who have chosen to further their education. The great part about furthering my education is that I actually desire to do it! When I contemplate about not being able to further my education due to financial burdens, it completely breaks my heart considering I know what the value of an education is.

Education is central to my identity. My parents moved from Nigeria when I was 3 and my father knew that the only way he could get a better job was if he went back to college and get a degree in the United States. I saw how hard my parents juggled college life and work life to support us and themselves. While I have always loved learning, I have not always unable to learn as much as I wanted. In middle school, despite being a straight A student, I failed my 7th grade statewide math exam. This made me realize that I needed to extend my studies beyond the classroom, and work hard to find work that was challenging enough to allow me to grow intellectually.

As a child and even into adulthood I lacked in caring for my studies. I was never a particularly strong student. Being a poor student was not due to the inability to learn. It stemmed from my lack of understanding the importance of an education. I coasted by, did the bare minimum to get through high school and unfortunately that carried over to college. I graduated from Stow-Munroe Falls High School with a 2.3 GPA. I was in the bottom 20% of my graduating class. I was; however, still accepted into the University of Akron. Unfortunately, I was not mentally mature enough to begin college.

The worth of education has somehow become less. Is it because people think their "social lives" will be hindered by the unlawful time they must give up to read these so called leaves with ancient inscriptions on them? Do they feel that education is beneath them, that if they were to even try to expand their minds; they would be deemed an outcast? The answers to these questions lies in society.