The Paradox of Education by Jaclyn

The Paradox of Education by Jaclyn - October 2022 Scholarship Essay

Most of us have probably heard the saying “knowledge is power”. I’m also willing to bet many of us have rolled our eyes at something we perceived as a dramatic cliché intended to keep us focused on our least favorite subjects as we worked through school. I’ve grown up a lot since I first heard that knowledge is power; I’ve found real joy in learning and recognized how my education empowers me to contribute to the world.

Here's what I think: knowledge is power, and education is what you make of it. It is all too easy to dismiss subjects we aren’t interested in, trudging through lessons just because we ‘have’ to take them. If you ask me, though, that isn’t an education. Education is the act of learning wholeheartedly, the willingness to be open-minded, and the perseverance to overcome struggles. Even in our most hated topics, we should always be open to engaging with the content; there is no downside to learning new things.

On the contrary, the more we understand about the world as a whole, the more prepared we are to make informed decisions about reality. I believe this is the true purpose of education: our education empowers us to make meaningful choices about not only our own lives but also our communities and societies. Through education, we are given an invaluable set of tools with which we can better navigate the world. We are not only offered the opportunity to learn more about our world but also ourselves: passions, dislikes, goals, careers—all of these can only sprout from acquiring knowledge first. How can you know you’re fascinated by meteorology if you’ve never learned about wind patterns? How can you know you hate calculus until you’ve learned the equations?

Of course, knowledge doesn’t have to come from education, but the structure of education provides the foundation to dedicate oneself to knowledge for as long or as little as desired. Education is a door that opens to infinite possibilities, and your journey through that door is supported by peers and faculty who are just as excited as you are.

What does education mean to me? Education is both a new lease on life and a return to old hobbies, both fun and challenging, both exciting and frightening. Perhaps the most contradictory aspect of education is that education is ultimately what you make of it. To some people, education is nothing. To me, education is everything; it is my key to the future and a key to becoming the best version of myself I can be.