Finding Myself by Megan

Finding Myself by Megan - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

The most difficult phase of life is not when no one understands you; It is when you don’t understand yourself. –Anonymous

This point in my life is the most life-changing to date. As a teenager, I know that I need to make careful decisions regarding my future: what college to attend, which scholarships to apply for, who my roommate will be. I think that I know what I want, but sometimes it is hard to tell. I am still not exactly sure who I am, why I want certain things, why I can be so hardheaded and stubborn. I do not yet fully understand myself, which makes being a teenager quite frustrating at times.

Some may argue that when one experiences loss or a major transition that they are going through the hardest phase of their life. Everyone reacts differently to the cards they are dealt in life, but no one can dispute that being a teenager is incredibly difficult.

I know that my family would not disagree; my mood can change in a matter of seconds, and sometimes, even I don’t know exactly what sets me off, which can make me even angrier. Afterwards, I still feel frustrated, but only with myself. Parents and teens alike admit that going through the teenage years is like going through unchartered territory. There are the roots of our past in the underbrush that trip us, and have the ability to drag us down if we let them. There are the strange new species that we encounter in high school, the wild way the social ladder works.

However, this stage of life, like all things, comes to an end. At the end of the teen years, most teenagers have a better handle on the world, and on themselves. We have reached the “X”, we have found the buried treasure that has lead us to ourselves in the end.

I know that in college, my horizons will be expanded beyond my wildest dreams. I will learn new things not only from my classes and professors but also from my new friends, and from the hands-on experiences that I will be able to go through in my intended career path of speech pathology, at my dream school, West Chester University. These experiences will prepare me for my future, and all of these experiences will shape who I am meant to be. For now, I will continue tripping over those roots, but never giving up, I will cut through the undergrowth, fight off the ferocity that can sometimes be high school. I know that in the end, the treasure I find when I emerge will be worth it.