Life: Growth or Wisdom

The dictionary defines wisdom as have or showing experience, knowledge and good

judgment. Aristotle said that knowing oneself is the beginning of wisdom. I believe this to be

true. Choices gives us experience and knowledge, making certain choices develops our good

judgment which leads us to make better choices. It is an ongoing circle that impacts our daily

life. School and my family have given me such knowledge in order to succeed in life. School has

given me the educational knowledge that I can use for my future while my family has instilled in

me an ethical and moral code that influences my actions. My virtues stem from that code of

ethics and way of being. Raised in an Evangelical household, I was always guided to do the

"right" thing, to not lie to be the best person that I could. That however, has not taken root in

the best way possible. It made me lie from a young age and I have grow to have the judgment

to be able to discern whether my actions will have repercussions that I cannot deal with.

My good judgment has evolved throughout my high school career. Although it might

appear simple and childish, ability to pick partners for certain projects has grown. During my

freshman year, I would pick my friends, regardless of whether they would do work or not. It did

not matter at the time, I was naive and I would do most of the work, I knew that. Now, I have

raised my expectations and choose according to how well my partners are going to do work as

well as if they are going to do any work. I have grown in using that judgment in order to be

more successful in my school work. This is a skill that can be improved and because it can be

improved, I can use it successfully in the my future in order to made decisions in business.
 Experience in my opinion is the most important characteristic of wisdom. It allows for

people to make good judgment as well as learn and gain knowledge. Experience has come to

me throughout my high school career through relationships. Although I'm not proud of it, I have

had my fair share of experiences and I have now, the ability to move my current long term

relationship forward as well as being able to tell when there is something wrong, when there is

something that needs to be addressed. I believe that this is the skill in which I have grown the

most. Throughout my high school career, I have had jobs with family members and have seen

what it takes to earn a living as well as learn certain skills that can be valuable in the future. A

prime example of this would be the skills I learned with my uncle and the ability to apply them

into Earth Club which allowed me to implement an irrigation system into the school garden.

These are skills that will stay with me forever and in my future I can use them for personal use

or profit. However, what I can never forget is the learning experience and memories. These

were moments where I learned from family.

I firmly believe that wisdom is the ability to be reflective and take action accordingly. It

is putting the greater good in front of them while not sacrificing others during an Utilitarian

Approach. I have grown in my morals, beliefs and ethical code. Although during my junior year I

had to courage to leave my mother's house, the real decider was my moral code as well as

beliefs. It was not morally correct in my eyes for certain actions to be taking place. Had I been in

a earlier stage of development where my moral views had not yet solidified, I would have not

known what to do to get away. I have grown from my freshman year to now. My conscious is

absolved from any guilt that comes from leaving a parent. Eventually, the child leaves the

parent, I just happen to leave mine earlier.

 My greatest growth in knowledge came my senior year. I took classes that I had to draw

from my courage to take. These classes were Psychology and Calculus. Calculus is complex

thinking with algebra. During my junior year, algebra II was the highest form of math that I had

taken as well as the first time where my mathematical abilities were challenged. I was able to

persist and learn from my mistakes. In retrospect, this prepared me for calculus. Many mistakes

were made since the beginning. From August to April, I have learned the basics of calculus.

From limits to derivatives, to integrals and fundamental theorems of calculus. Taking this class

has improved my way of thinking critically as thinking abstractly. I now question what I know

and what I'm learning. Calculus has opened my mind to higher thinking as well as creativity.

During my years of high school, I have become wise enough that I can make decisions

that will have a positive impact on my life. I have decided to go to college away from home and

while there are some people who say that my actions are unwise and that will have drastic

consequences both financially and emotionally, I am fully confident in my ability to discern

what is good for me and what is not. I am independent enough to live in college and succeed. I

am now an adult and if high school taught me anything is that all I have to do it work hard, stay

true to my beliefs, morals and code of ethics, and everything else will follow. I have learned

from experiences. I have learned from my teachers. I have learned from my family. I am ready

to go out into the world and grow in intelligence, and knowledge and thus in wisdom, courage

and humanity.