Educational Influence

Education is very valuable to me. It has shaped me into who I am today, and without education, I would be a completely different person. Some people believe that education is all about figuring out the ‘right’ answer and passing a class they never cared about to begin with, but it’s way more than that. Education inspires curiosity, innovation, and greatness. This is why it has changed and shaped me into who I am today, because I have looked at these qualities of education and inspired them.

It all began years ago; I was in the 3rd grade, and my brother, who was in 5th grade, were outside (we were taking out the trash), and I remember when he told me something small and subtle, but something I didn’t get yet. He told me about division, a simple division problem. He said, “25 ÷ 5 = 5,” and that was it. One may think that this was insignificant, but to me, I had no concept of it. I wondered how anyone could come up with this answer. Note that I hadn’t learned a lot of arithmetic then, but this conversation has stuck in my mind even until this day. My brother never elaborated on how division worked, unfortunately, but when I got into the 4th grade, that all changed.

The time I spent in 4th grade really changed me, and not just math-wise (although it was a huge portion). Not only did my teachers teach me new subjects, but they also made it entertaining,

accessible, and understandable to those who were behind. Every time I took in more knowledge, I felt different. As if I were developing in real time. Yes, it was slow, but that’s how learning is, and that’s the beauty of it. That you get to experience it in real time, that you can learn and understand things that previously didn’t make any sense when you were younger. To me, that made me feel astounded and proud of myself that this was the case. Normally, I would never feel this way with most things, but when it came to learning, it was completely different.

Learning is not all about academics, and I had to learn this the hard way. I remember in my 9th grade year; I had waited until the deadline passed to apply to the school I attend now. Hollis F. Price is very academically based, so I needed letters of recommendation to apply. I was lazy, so naturally I didn’t get the papers, and I couldn’t register for that year. I had to spend my 9th grade year at a school I didn’t want to be at. I was so disappointed with myself, but I’ve learned from that experience. I was educated. I learned that I needed to take applications seriously and get them in as soon as possible. I learned that I was getting older, and with that comes responsibility. It was really a turning point for me.

During my time in high school, I had to learn how to study. This was a big problem for me because I had no idea how to do it, and I had to learn what works for me. This type of education was entirely different from what I was used to. It was always people telling me what I should do or how to do it, but no one taught me how to study, and rereading my notes every 5 minutes didn’t help. For a while, I felt very stuck. I remembered how I would hardly pass a test because I couldn’t remember the material. I knew that hardly passing wasn’t acceptable, so I had to figure out how to study. I began using physical flashcards instead of rereading my notes. The flashcards enabled me to be able to remember better for exams. Before I started using flashcards in my French class, my first test grade was a 60%. After the first test I began to study, and every test after I scored a 90% or above. The point I am trying to make is that I had to teach myself, to figure it out by myself, and to apply what I had learned myself. I was not used to studying, but I became accustomed to it, learned how to do it, and learned to accept the skill instead of denying it. This form of education was very eye- opening to me. It helped me understand that even without instructions, if you have a strong desire to accomplish something, you will find a way.

Another example is emotional learning. I remember the many days when I was sitting with my friend, and they would go on about their day. They had many problems, and I wondered how I could help them. People at my current school knew I liked to help people, but no one really reciprocated. I had always given my friend my advice, opinion, and support. I didn’t expect anything in return other than their company because I didn’t want to sit alone. My friend had always appreciated me when I listened, but to what extent I didn’t know. One day, they were putting their accessories on me (that weren't masculine, but just for fun I tried them on), and someone had called me out for it. I was confused and embarrassed, but my friend defended me, and rigorously at that. They said I should be proud to do things that other people were afraid to do, even if it’s just wearing accessories that didn’t align with my gender. When I saw that, I was initially surprised that anyone would do that for me. It made me learn that not everyone is a fake friend or someone who just wants to use me to pass a class. That I mattered to someone so much that they couldn’t just sit back and watch while I was being made fun of. It made me happy, but it was better than that. A sense of security.

Finally, I learned compassion at a young age. When I was a child, I remember how I used to get bullied by other kids (it never got physical, only verbal). When I told my parents, they told me to respond back with violence. I didn’t understand this at all, because I thought that being physical when they were only being verbal wasn’t wise. I had also experienced being hit before, and I wouldn’t wish that on other people. I didn’t do what my parents told me because it didn’t sound like the right thing to do, so I went to my grandma, and she told me to forgive them and ignore them because at least they wouldn’t get a reaction out of me. I thought that this was the way to go, and it did. People kept talking about me behind my back, and instead of retaliating, I only offered to help if they needed it. Through this, over the years, people had talked about me less and leaned on me more. I had learned that violence shouldn’t be the first instinct that one should have to negativity. Instead, we should approach a situation with calmness and patience. I had also learned that we should treat strangers as friends, as actual people.

There are many ways education can influence someone's identity, and I gave a few snippets of mine. These were some of the primary ways that education had changed my life for the better. It’s not just academic, but it’s a mixture of life experiences, and we learn and grow from them.