Writing Samples

Albert Einstein said, “I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious.”  

I have always appreciated the humility in his statement and, also, the potential.  From academics to athletics to spirituality, I love to learn, explore, and apply new ideas.  I am innately curious, and my passionate inquisitiveness keeps me exploring the world around me while also seeking new environments, experiences, and opportunities to learn and grow.

During my middle and high school years, I saw how a change in environment can impact curiosity, development, and opportunity.  This change sparked a period of personal growth and a shift in my perspective.  From sixth to ninth grade, I attended a small STEM charter school – there were roughly 60 students in my grade.  The school prided itself on providing a strong academic foundation.  

For many years, it was a nice place for me to grow, develop, and learn.  My primary focus was on academics, in part because the school did not offer extracurricular activities or electives.  While as a middle school student I flourished in the hands-on learning environment that it provided, I found myself wanting more once I reached the high school level.  There was no place for me to fuel my curiosities, and I wanted to have the opportunity to expand my studies and my horizons beyond the core curriculum.  I wanted electives, dual credit courses, and the freedom to explore my interests.

After careful consideration, I switched schools at the beginning of my sophomore year.  I moved from the small k-12 charter school to a large public high school.  The transition could not have been more exciting.  Lakeland High School offered electives and extracurricular opportunities that I had not been exposed to before.  Like a kid in a candy store, I eagerly added as many as I could to my schedule.  The years I spent at Lakeland were very different from the years I spent at STEM.  I went from no extracurriculars to participating in as many extra opportunities as I could.  

I developed a passion for a wide variety of classes – subjects ranging from physics to outdoor exploration to journalism.  I found a welcoming and genuine community through student media and built leadership, teaching, and editing skills as Co-Editor-In-Chief during my senior year.  I started the “Students of Lakeland” series, and this project helped me to get to know the people around me on a deeper level through photojournalism.  I followed my passionate curiosity and began to discover who I am, who I want to be, and the impact I want to make during my lifetime.

At the close of my high school career, I am again facing a change in environment that will impact my future curiosities, development, and opportunities.  My time at Lakeland allowed me to discover and explore my passion for journalism and helped me realize where I want to dedicate my time in the future.  

For anyone, college is a big step from adolescence to adulthood.  For me, college is the next step toward turning my dreams into reality.  I desire to travel to foreign countries, serve those in need, and learn from those who are different from me while encountering new cultures, new people, and new ideas.  I plan to apply my journalistic experience as I see and experience the world and share those experiences with others.  I hope to find a welcoming and genuine community in a new environment where I can learn and grow.  My biggest strengths are my passion and my curiosity.  I am excited to exercise and further develop these strengths in the next stage of my educational journey.