The bigger picture by Carmen

The bigger picture by Carmen - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

Only focusing on the bigger picture can make you blind to the finer details. Last year, I had to choose between two colleges, both presenting pros and cons. One college would keep me in a familiar area, but I would be delayed with starting my intended dance major. At the same time, the other college would put me in a new environment and allow me to start my major on time. Under the assumption that I would’ve started my major sooner than I did, I ended up choosing the first college. In the end, I ended up choosing the college that looked “shinier” as I was heavily swayed by the thought of being able to live in the same city and still have the more traditional college experience, as I was coming from a conservatory program. But, in focusing on eventually being able to start my major and maintain the environment I was in, I glossed over the minor details, for example all the time I wouldn’t be focused on my dance major, the lack of campus life, and how overall the college wasn’t exactly what I wanted or what I had envisioned. I ended up romanticising parts of my experience so as not to feel utter regret for not choosing the other college and all that I may have missed out on. After the school year was completed, I had settled into the fact that even though I didn’t have the greatest freshman year, I had finally reached the “bigger picture” and was happy that I was studying my major and living where I wanted. But, unexpectedly, I was offered delayed enrollment to the other college, which I regretted not going so I saw this as a one-time opportunity and will be transferring there for the fall semester. In thinking about transferring or not, it made me reflect on my real experience and all that I pushed past to reach my goal, which ended up not making up for all that I settled for and didn’t accomplish like I thought it would.
Going through this experience taught me to think of every aspect when making a decision that will affect a one-time experience, like the freshman year of college, and something that will take up time that I will never get back. This also made me realize how I often choose to settle for certain decisions to maintain a level of comfort or the easier option. Which ends up hindering my ability to experience something new, and what may be best for me. Although I still do have some regrets about not choosing the other college the first time, I appreciate what I learned from this past year and overall what I learned about myself. Moving forward, I can apply this advice to make sure I not only get the best experiences for myself I will also have the college experience and life I want.