Marvel Optics Scholarship

The following is a response to the prompt: Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” What does that mean to you?

It was day one, and I was completely drenched from the rain, stuck under a tree wondering why I had ever agreed to come to such a miserable place. As a small twelve-person group of family and friends, we had embarked on an eight-day canoeing trip in the Canadian wilderness. The only problem was the weather: thunder and lightning along with torrential downpour as we fought to stay dry. However, that night I learned a powerful lesson from my Grandfather.

Huddled under the tree, I was debating how long we would spend in camp before we decided to turn around and just canoe back to the cabin. My Grandfather interrupted my daydream as he came up to me and said “What are we going to build? Let’s keep ourselves busy!” 15 minutes later, I found myself wonderfully dry under a tarp, supported from wood found around camp.

That night I learned how vision can carry us through our obstacles. In life, we all face rainstorms in one form or another that leave us feeling cold, hopeless, and pessimistic. But my Grandfather taught me how having the vision to find solutions from what lies around us will help us realize our potential. Not only did we build a shelter, but I built confidence in myself that if I work hard, I can find a solution to any problem.

I applied this during my first year of college, when l realized I needed additional income. Instead of feeling hopeless, I started to learn about marketing and I became Google Adwords certified. That has since lead me to start a marketing consulting business where I hope to make ends meet while in college. I am grateful for my education and will continue learning, where I will raise my vision on what I can accomplish.