Personal Statement

Margaret Mead, a 1970s writer and anthropologist once said, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” On my first day at a classical private school as a four-year old, this is what I began to learn. For ten years I attended this school, every day I was nurtured through education. My sixth-grade teacher taught me how to deeply analyze the literature I read, simply for my own knowledge of how to approach reading difficult novels. The classical model of education seemed to be wired for my brain. In addition, my teachers allowed me to grow as an individual. I found myself connecting subjects and making discoveries in my school work that differed from those around me, yet my differences were encouraged. However, as I progressed,

Everything I knew to be true about education, felt completely opposite at this new school. I sat in classes where my teachers never concerned themselves to know my name. The adjustments in my education my freshman year of high school were daunting. Throughout the year I remembered the importance education had in my life. I turned to the honors classes as the possible answer to my dilemmas. There I found support from my teachers and a stronger education. It was because of my personal advancement that I realized the importance of taking initiative and taking charge of my own education. My high school career was neither my parents nor my teachers so, therefore, challenging myself was a decision I needed to

I was now an online student while living over 5,000 miles away from my former home, living in Rome, Italy. My year as an online student required an enormous amount of academic discipline which at times I could barely act upon. While living in one of the greatest cities in the world, I taught myself chemistry and trigonometry. Every day I needed to remind myself that it was up to me to finish all of my work, and if I did not, I risked not failing my sophomore year. Taking school online was aggravating, but my education stemmed from more than my online program. I learned to live in a culture that was not my own, and the history of an ancient city by walking the streets. Every day brought a new learning experience, a new Italian phrase to cram into my tired brain, and another social fallacy which I must avoid. I began to understand the importance of genuinely respecting strange customs that may appear senseless because they were important to the society of which I was apart. My neighborhood was nothing fancy, but people lived there from all walks of life. There was the neighborhood homeless woman who everyone greeted, the college students attending the university nearly three blocks away, and the CEO of the university hospital all within one quaint area. We all shopped at the same grocery store and walked the same streets. Respect essential to continue my brief new way of life. In that year my education