Option 1)
Describe a situation in your life when you had to choose between what seemed practical and what you believed was right or consistent with your principles. What did you decide, and why? Looking back, how do you evaluate that decision now? What did you learn from this experience, and what would you like your readers to understand from your experience?
As a first-generation college student, I spent the majority of my four years in high school stressing about academics so I could attend college. What I was going to study in college never really crossed my mind. I applied to Haverford College undecided as a naive seventeen-year-old trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do. I always found this to be a tough question because I was barely considered an adult, yet I was suddenly expected to have an idea of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. My parents wanted me to choose a more practical route, something along the lines of a stable 9-to-5 office job with good pay. And because I was too young to understand what I actually wanted to do at the time, I decided that majoring in economics would set me up for the practical route post-grad.
It wasn’t until the spring of my sophomore year that I decided I no longer wanted to do what was practical. I realized that one of my principles is that the work I dedicate my life to should have meaning beyond financial security. I thought to myself, if the choice I made in life does not satisfy me, is it actually practical? For me, choosing an academic path because the career options seemed financially secure or responsible did seem reasonable, but I wondered whether financial security alone was enough to make me happy. What was the point of spending the rest of my life in a career if I couldn't find purpose or joy in the work I was doing? Thankfully, whilst I was fulfilling course requirements for the economics major, I also explored various courses. Taking courses in education exposed me to a field that I would have never considered before. As I learned more about education and gained opportunities to work with students, I found a different kind of fulfillment in helping others learn and succeed. By the end of my sophomore year, I had enough credits to minor in economics and decided to change my academic path and major in education.
I chose this path because it gave me a sense of purpose, which I realized was an important part of making a practical decision. Changing my major taught me to trust my gut and to take the risk, even when I am not certain if I am making the “right” choice. Looking back, I realize that choosing education was not an impractical decision simply because it did not fit my original idea of what a financially secure career looked like. As a senior in college today, I understand that purpose, happiness, and personal values are also important when making life decisions that shape my future. There is no fixed definition of what it means to be practical. More importantly, I have learned that practicality looks different for everyone because we come from different backgrounds and experiences that influence our values, goals, and definition of happiness. However, I have learned that when faced with difficult decisions, it is important to not only consider what seems practical on paper, but also what feels right and aligns with the person I want to become.