Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.
Ever since I was little, I have loved military history. With my tiny toy soldiers, I would fight alongside the Spartans at Thermopylae and storm the foggy beaches of Normandy.
As I grew older, the thrill of battle slowly faded, but my passion for history remained. My attention turned toward grasping the countless lessons buried in the past.
In AP U.S. History last year, I was challenged to explore the many decisions that shaped our country. What other policies could have been used to fight the Great Depression? How did Roosevelt’s New Deal redefine government into the institution we know today? Answering these questions through research and critical thinking was instrumental in helping me understand the vital role that government plays in American society.
More importantly, by looking backwards in time, I am able to think forward. There is always some trail of breadcrumbs that leads from past to present and inevitably into the future. This understanding came in our class’ exploration of the industrialization of America, where I realized that government and business were like sine waves: a period of big government followed by a period of small government, a period of boom followed b
Paradoxically, history, the study of the past, has helped me plan further into the future. I learned to think more strategically and consider an action’s long-term implications. This is a major reason I pushed FBLA to build relationships with other clubs: because we would no longer brand ourselves solely as a business club, but as the club that would help you, no matter what career you choose.
Taken at face value, history is not a subject that will train me to perform heart surgeries, design smartphones, or build skyscrapers. But, as I have come to learn, history is a great teacher that will help me to be successful in my future endeavors.
Word Count: 329