Growth through Changes in Circumstance by E.J.

Growth through Changes in Circumstance by E.J. - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

From when I was still unable to walk until a little over sixteen years old, I lived in a small town in Florida. This whole time I made a comfortable life with things that were familiar to me. I had a close group of friends and a good part time job I worked, as well as a great church that my dad led. Everything changed when I was sat down one night and told the news that my family would be moving up to Ohio for my Dad's new job. At first I thought that it would be interesting to have a new environment, and there wasn't much room for discussion for this so I just went along with it. What happened when I arrived was completely different than my plan. It was a much more uncomfortable situation because I had no one I knew, and since it was in the summer I had no other distractions. The worst of my problems were not from relying on other people, but how inferior I felt to myself when I was in Florida. This feeling worsened as I realized that my license wasn't valid in Ohio, and I had to redo the entire process. For about a half a year I had problems trying to figure out what I was supposed to do and what I put my identity in. There was good in this, as I learned to not make myself need something to give myself worth. I have tried since to realize that not just myself, but everyone has an inherent worth that the do not need to prove to anyone and I should treat them as such.