When Life Loses Its Shape by Noah

Noah's entry into Varsity Tutor's October 2025 scholarship contest

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When Life Loses Its Shape by Noah - October 2025 Scholarship Essay

In Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting, Winnie Foster faces an unusual choice: drink from a spring that grants eternal life or live a normal “mortal” human life. Surprisingly, she chooses not to drink from the spring, which showed me that life’s value doesn’t come from never-ending days, but from its impermanence.

Winnie realizes that endless time would erase the urgency that makes everyday moments meaningful. Angus Tuck explains to her that when humans don’t experience death, life loses its shape, its purpose, like a wheel that never turns. Her decision to embrace change and accept beginnings and endings demonstrates remarkable courage. From her, I learned that love, growth, and meaning come from the fact that our time is limited.

As I prepare to graduate, this lesson has guided how I see my own future. It is tempting to wish for more time. I would give anything to have longer days, delay difficult choices I need to make, or avoid the uncertainty of what next year will bring. But Winnie reminds me that what matters is not how much time I have, but how I choose to use it. Graduation and friendships, even my youth, all have meaning because they are not forever.

This perspective has encouraged me to be more present and intentional with my time. I try to appreciate the people around me, not be so annoyed by my younger brothers, take more risks with the opportunities I take, and not hold back effort for “someday.” The lesson Winnie Foster imparted to me is simple but profound: I don’t need an endless life to make it meaningful. It’s about embracing change, appreciating every moment, and living with purpose.

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