Essay on JFK

February 27th was the day 90% of remaining scholarships were due. Which means that for this week's "Words," I present you with.... an essay.
I wrote a fair few of them, changing a few words here and there to make it work for the slightly altered prompt, but this one was unique. I can't really use it for anything else, and it's pretty dang good... and the chance that someone else will somehow find this on the internet, steal it, and turn it in for their own scholastic use is downright unlikely.
So here it is. You can read it if you like. It is (be impressed!) exactly 500 words... which was the maximum. So here you go.

Essay on JFK quote. “ Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.”

In my life, I have friends who excel at different subjects. Emily is the mathematician, I’m the history buff, and Dawn is the musician. We are unique, with different ambitions and abilities. Through a good college education each of us will be able to do what we love, be who we want to be, and bless the lives of those in our communities, states, and nation. As John F. Kennedy once so wisely said, “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” The promise our youth is dependent upon a good education, a dream, and the desire for a better world.

The purpose of education is to amplify or expand upon existing talents, and nurture the acquisition of knowledge in other areas. This “general education” helps our youth to become better future voters, citizens, and life-long learners. But as great as a “general education” is, it is insufficient to “develop our greatest abilities” in the manner to which the JFK quote refers. Our greatest attributes will be no more than a moderate advantage in daily life, if we do not seek to improve and strengthen them by the acquisition of a specified college education. Education is the key to success, the refiner’s fire of raw talent, and the only sure method by which an individual can reach his or her full potential. 

As elemental as an education is, it’ll amount to nothing without the drive of a dream. Education may be the key to success, but what good is a key if you don’t use it? The “private hope and dream” of young people is the only thing that can motivate them to use their “key,” their wealth of newfound knowledge, to actually accomplish something. A dream may be influenced by people met and things done, but a dream is quintessentially the product of the dreamer. That original and untainted idea… Who do I want to be? What do I want to accomplish? That idea is a part of that person’s soul. No one can give you a dream. It must come from deep inside, it must be your passion, and it must be your drive. And when this dream is made possible through education, the future will be bright with endless possibilities to bless the lives of others.

What will the youth of our nation do with their abilities? Where do their dreams drive their efforts on the many pronged path to success? I know that Emily will be a high school math teacher, using her love of mathematics to inspire and enrich the minds of future students. Dawn will use the Arts to bring beauty and color to the world. Their dreams, along with those of untold millions of other youth, will finally be “translated into [the] benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.”