Personal Plot Twist by Precious

Personal Plot Twist by Precious - August 2025 Scholarship Essay

The upcoming school year feels like the start of a new season in a long-running series. I am both the main character and the writer. Last season was about figuring out where the cafeteria was and learning how not to crash my laptop with too many open tabs. This season is about leveling up.
One of my biggest aspirations is to make my academic life feel less like a checklist and more like a treasure hunt. I am a psychology major, so I want to dig deeper into the “why” behind human behavior. Not just so I can ace exams, but because I find it exciting when a theory suddenly explains something I have been noticing in my own life. If I can finish this year having made three genuine connections between what I have read in class and what I have experienced in real time, I will consider that a win.
Another goal is to build what I call my academic ecosystem. This means forming relationships with professors and classmates who challenge me. It means joining discussions even when I am not sure I have the right answer and maybe even collaborating on something publishable. It is not about collecting contacts for the sake of networking. It is about surrounding myself with people who make me think harder and dream bigger.
I am also determined to work on quiet confidence. Not the loud look-at-me kind of confidence, but the kind where I can walk into a room full of people, contribute to a conversation, and not spend the next three hours replaying every word I said. This will mean taking on roles that scare me a little. It could be presenting a research project or leading a group discussion. I have realized that growth hides in the places that make my stomach flip.
What motivates me is part curiosity and part stubbornness. Curiosity keeps me asking questions that turn a ten-minute reading into a forty-five minute rabbit hole. Stubbornness shows up when I am tired and the easy option is to skim the assignment instead of digging in. Together, they make a surprisingly good team.
At the heart of it, I do not want to look back in May and feel like the year blurred together. I want a mental scrapbook filled with moments where I felt challenged, inspired, or proud of myself. If I can close the chapter on this school year knowing I took risks, asked hard questions, and built something, whether it is knowledge, friendships, or confidence, I will know I have done more than just pass through.
This is not just a school year for me. It is my personal plot twist.