Mason

“Philosophy?!” That’s the reaction Mason sometimes gets from his peers when he mentions his interest in the subject. “They look at me as if I’m not cool” he wrote.

But he doesn’t mind.  Reading books on the philosophy of stoicism has taught him that “it is fine to not be accepted by people in certain environments.” He has learned “that we control how we react to the world’s problems and that if you don’t have self-control, you can’t reach success. Stoicism has changed my life for the better, as it made me emotionally intelligent, and made me understand the true value of having self-control in your life.”

Mason’s school counselor describes him as a “standout” who maintains an “insatiable awe and curiosity about the world around him.” When asked for the first words that come to mind in describing Mason, the very first word on this counselor’s list? “Philosophical.” And on another counselor’s list? “Resilient” 

Mason reflected in his essay on the hard times his family has endured and he also wrote about his mother’s love and the sacrifices she made for Mason and his siblings.  So imagine his mother’s reaction when he burst through the door and told her that he had passed a difficult test with the highest grade in the class, and what that meant for his future. “My firstborn is about to go to college,” she said proudly. “Give me a hug.”

The teacher that has made the greatest difference in my life is Kareem Ayas, my English teacher for my junior and senior years of high school. Mr. Ayas helped me realize that while just scraping by and getting an okay grade is good, it is better to stand out and put in the extra work to ensure that you are pushing yourself to your limits. During my junior year, he made me rewrite an essay that I got a 75% on because he knew I was capable of getting a 90% or above. In that moment, I thought he was the worst teacher ever because my previous teachers would just let it be. But as time progressed, I realized that Mr. Ayas saw the potential that I had to achieve great things, which is why he always pushed me to be a better writer, but also a young man as a whole.