What is home? To many, this question has a very simple answer, usually the address of their current house. I feel, however, that my answer to this question is much more complicated. Home is my little house on Pleasant Street, where I have lived and grown up my entire life. Home is my host family’s house on Juliantie in Piikkiö, Finland, where I lived for 6 weeks during the summer before my junior year. Home is my family and friends,...

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to live in the city. My small Massachusetts town has never felt big enough for all my dreams. I have yearned for a faster pace, new faces, and more diversity. Then, during the summer before my senior year, I visited a friend in Minnesota. And everything changed. In her town, only a quarter the size of my hometown, I found what I didn’t even know I was searching for:...

I have no idea where I’m going in my life (I know, the words every college admissions counselor wants to hear, right?). Ask me what I want to study, and I will rattle off at least five majors, all of them unrelated. I dream of living abroad, but when asked to pinpoint a specific country, I’m more likely to list twenty. And my future career seems to change daily (today, it happens to be teaching English abroad, but...

The rough dirt under my bare feet. The warm air on my face. The beginnings of the sunrise on the horizon. The sound of my quick breaths. The lingering smell of smoke left over from the evening’s sauna. The stillness of early morning. At the end of the dock, I plunge into the frigid water of the Baltic Sea. I hear my friend splash into the water behind me. We gasp for breath and laugh about how crazy we...

I am no typical high school student. (Yes, I’m aware that a lot of students say that. No, this is not going to be another cliché “I’m special” essay.) While most high school students are out partying on Friday nights, I’m at home studying so that I can keep my grades up. The majority of students have a job and a car; I have neither, but this has taught me that it’s impossible to have everything...

In math class, we learn how to evaluate complex equations that tell us how best to invest our money. In English class, we learn how to interpret Shakespeare and apply it to the troubles and joys of our own lives. In science class, we learn how to conduct tests that determine the safety of our water stores. In none of these classes, however, do we learn what the application of each of these lessons actually feels like. In order to...

This scholarship would mean the world to me. And I mean that literally. Although I am still unsure of where my future will take me, I plan on teaching English abroad upon graduating from college. I have a passion for travel, and being able to change the lives of others while funding my travels seems like the perfect combination. Hopefully, my teaching career will take me around the world and allow me to immerse myself in the culture and heritage...