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College Prep Scholarship Essay

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I grew up in a world of little things. I appreciated the details in my daily life - the way my mothers voice changed as she read to me, the innumerable times my father checked his pockets before leaving for work. I liked the comfort of cramped library corners and well explored territory and small state schools. Growing up in Asheville, I considered myself wordly enough- I couldn’t imagine anything bigger than the mountains and stories ever-present around town. It was an eclectic environment, a loud one, one that begged to be noticed. I went to an arts school and learned the importance of knowledge beyond memorization. I spent time downtown and listened to activists - street preachers and gay rights advocates and underpaid teachers all garnered …show more content…

For the first time in my life, I was at the top looking down. The tower of little things I’d built to get there began to quake. I was no longer comfortable with the average life I’d always seen for myself. I hadn’t realized how big the world was outside of my microscopic bubble and it only took one glance for me to realize I wanted more. Mere weeks after I returned home, desperate for new experiences, I recieved an email from QuestBridge informing me about the College Prep Scholarship. It was a godsend, my chance to reach for things I’d never even considered as legitimate options for myself. While the QuestBridge email was an invitation, it felt like a death sentence. Looking over the application, I preemptively mourned my missed opportunities. I bemoaned the hundreds of hours I’d spent at home on insignificant tasks, unrecognized efforts. I’d balanced dozens of things I thought no one cared about - teaching myself the AP Art History curriculum and tutoring friends over Skype, learning guitar and taking free MIT classes online, reading biology textbooks and revising my own novels. I didn’t realize that these things counted. I used to think I grew up in a world of little things. Now I know that every moment in my life thus far has been preparing me for the future I’m working

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