By Unigo
We’re excited to announce the winner of the $1,500 Unigo Shout It Out Scholarship. The question was, “If you could say one thing to the entire world at once, what would it be and why?” Check out Jenna’s winning essay and scholarship tips.
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Winning scholarship essay
“Remember to look up.” Tear your eyes from your phone screen, lift your head to see the beauty of reality. Take the time to gaze at the myriad stars that make you feel small and insignificant; watch the sun color the sky, edging out the darkness of night. Glance away, if only for a second, from schoolbooks and plans of the future, and absorb the world around you, taking in every mundane detail, for this instant will never come again (and one day, everything that now seems routine and unchanging could be gone). Open your heart, and look beyond what you know to better understand and appreciate those around you for who they are. Raise your critical eyes from your body and instead admire the face in the mirror, a face that is beautiful and unique and deserving of love.
“Remember to look up.” It is a friendly reminder, but one that should not be disregarded. The world moves too fast; people rush from one thing to the next in a flurry of emotion with a side of stress and a pinch of worry. We jump to conclusions, unable to spare the time to consider other perspectives. We spend our lives looking ahead, focused on our goals, convinced that happiness will come if we struggle relentlessly. But if we just pause and look up, we may see that happiness is already here.
Scholarship tips from our winner
I try to take a personal and unique approach to everything I write in order to make the reader think a little differently, even if the subject is something they are familiar with. Therefore, once settling on a subject that is important to me and appeals strongly to me, I will take my time looking at it from different angles to find the best light in which to present it. (Of course, this means I must get an early start!)