Personal Narrative: The Educated Person

It was the first day of class at SMU and I arrived to my first writing course twenty minutes early with a backpack full of brand new school supplies ready to take my freshman year by storm! I was prepared for this new chapter of my life that would be filled with taking endless notes, reading innumerable pages, and studying countless hours at the library until the information was implanted into my brain. I would ask myself, “It’s just that simple, right? If I go to class and follow instructions, I will become educated, won’t I?” That was until I was introduced to Thomas Jones’s essay, “The Educated Person” and what I once believed to be true about college education was thrown out the window. So what qualifies somebody as an educated person …show more content…
With the true meaning of education coming across my mind daily, I have been repeatedly inspired to pursue and experience new challenges, adventures, and other endeavors. Instead of grudgingly finishing homework assignments, I now consider the skills that I am learning within the homework as well as the skills that I am learning by doing the homework. I ask myself, “Why is this information important to me? What skills am I learning by thoroughly completing my homework?” An educated person is someone who “sees the value of an assignment in the learning experience, not the grade.” (Engel 10) And by asking myself these questions, I find the energy and desire to learn the material at …show more content…
Becoming educated is important because it molds us into being well-rounded people. If I am a well-rounded person, I have the ability to interact with all different types of people and even get to know them on a more personal level. If I am not well-rounded, it will be more difficult to relate to others who don’t share the same beliefs, interests, and hobbies as me. For example, if I enrolled and learned a lot in a class about the history of America, I would be able to have an educated conversation with someone about American history. The same idea goes for learning about arts, sports, and any other type of interest someone may have. By being knowledgeable on numerous topics, an educated person can also view scenarios from various perspectives instead of focusing on the situation from a single viewpoint. A major part of being an educated person is being a well-rounded person. And a well-rounded person is simply well-suited for making new friends, finding new interests, and having an impact wherever he