So these past few weeks have been pretty crazy. I've been on the hunt for scholarships in order to lessen the blow of financial devastation that is college. Most of these scholarships are essays which ask for life stories, solutions to a variety of problems, and evaluating importance in certain fields of interest. My latest essay is one on memories. The question is, "What is your most precious memory?". I've been asked to sort through 18 years of events in order to find one that stands out. So off I went scouring through endless places in my life.
Some memories were of striking simplicity. There was the summers I've spend with friends as we traveled the neighborhood. I've spent my summers playing games, sports and building relationships. These summers have been wonderful and constant. Even now they are similar, I still sit outside with friends and reflect. Then there are vacations with friends. There is the beach which is a very high point in my summers. The blue skies, and bright sand. There is always that feeling of unbreakable peace when I sit on the shore.Family vacations came in to my mind. I'll never forget the cruise trips I went on and met people from all over the world. The very memory made me feel happy and bright. I still remember being on that ship at midnight and looking out at an endless sight. Then I pictured my trip to Haiti and the things that happened there. How I had so much fun with the children, and how great they were. So many people's lives were touched, and mine was changed forever.
Yet still I could not find the highest mark. There was no clear winner to take the prize of "best". Then I started to pick up these pieces in my life and fit them together. I took summers, winters, Maryland, and Haiti. I fit together weddings, dates, love and friendship to find what I had been missing. It wasn't the individual pieces of delight that were best. For me, there is no best memory, but the architectural masterpiece that these pieces create. The thing I had been scouring for was my life, and the people in it. So don't rank the best parts of your life on a scale. Remember that every memory that you treasure is just a part of a greater work of art.
