The Importance of Being Noticed by Luke

The Importance of Being Noticed by Luke - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

Over half of all high school students across the country feel loneliness, noted by Newport Academy. One student for every two, five students for every ten, fifty students for every hundred. The ratio remains the same as the numbers scale. Since 2012, this percentage has doubled. And since 2022, I have been enrolled at my Junior/Senior High School. I have experienced the damaging effects of loneliness myself and have seen how it has affected some of my friends. Being lonely does not denote an insignificant feeling of not having someone to hang out with after school every day. It is an overbearing sensation that sweeps one up in its powerful wave and tunnels in a tsunami, waiting to crash down on his or her social, spiritual, and emotional life. It cripples the strongest hearts, infiltrating the brain, and causes individuals to feel unwanted and unfit to remain in their current state of being.
Growing up, I realized I had a superpower. I could introduce myself to people and create a sense of want and companionship with everyone, especially those who were isolated from the rest of the class. It grew as I fostered and nurtured it, and I attempted to shine a bright smile on every person I came in contact with. I vividly remember my first year of standardized school. I was in Kindergarten, and there was a young boy who hid in the corner of the classroom. He would slump at his desk and create a barrier between himself and the rest of the students. Although I was only 7 years old, I could not get him off my mind. I would look over and stare, waiting to see what he did and how he reacted to things. Eventually, on the second day of class, I decided to greet him. I smiled at him and asked him for his name. With little reluctance, he answered, “Bryce”.
At that moment, I understood my newly unlocked ability. This strength would go on to unlock doors for me and allow me to spread kindness among the students throughout my educational career, as well as my future work environments and family spaces. As I have grown comfortable with my newfound purpose, I have found myself smiling and nodding at strangers on the street, in the hopes that I would be greeted with a mirrored action. If anything could be taken from the loneliness epidemic, it should be that small acts of kindness, whether it be a meaningful introduction or a brief greeting, can encourage individuals to escape the tsunami that might be crashing down on them. And I plan to keep using my strength to empower others through their struggles.