An Educational Experience for Your Perusal

College Application Essay Numero Uno:

Upon initially reading this prompt I starting thinking about all the classes and teachers I have encountered in 15 years of school. I have had inspiring teachers and challenging classes along with teachers who made interesting subjects seem useless and classes that could not hide their frivolity if they tried. During the time I have spent away from school, though, I have learned an educational experience does not require either texts or lectures. As such, I would like to tell an illustrative story regarding something I recently learned that is simultaneously frustrating and beautiful.

My friend Caspian* and I agree that our friendship hinges on our conversations. We talk deeply about religion, politics, family, friends, love - anything is fair game. Generally speaking, there is no one with whom I am more candid.

One night, on the way home from a "Ninja Assassin" viewing, our conversation turned to religion. Neither Caspian nor I are religious, but I see the validity of religion when it brings personal peace and happiness and is not used as an excuse to hurt others. I love that some people can put their faith in the unknowable, and I like listening to people talk about what they believe and why. Caspian says that he adheres to a "to each his own" code as well, but religion is clearly a sore spot for him. He would prefer that the religious keep their religion to themselves.

We talked about religion for hours that night. Caspian expressed his disgust for the evangelical, to which I responded by asking how missioning is any different from arguing for the superiority of Star Wars. Although the ramifications are different, the sentiment is the same. When a person loves something they share it, and hating them for trying to spread something from which they derive profound meaning makes no sense. The advocated individual has no more need to become a Christian than they do a Star Wars fanboy, and preemptively deciding not to be convinced is silly.

Although I did not know it at the time, what I said affected Caspian. When I returned to Minnesota several months later I found out that he and a very religious girl had given a romantic relationship a shot. He had many times before told me that he would never date anyone religious, but told me that the conversation we had that night swayed him.

I consider this series of events a rewarding educational experience even though it is unconventional. The things that we learn outside of a classroom, through relationships and conversations tend to be more truthful and meaningful than anything gleaned from a text, no matter how classic, or anything said by a teacher, no matter how inspired. I learned definitively that people change and that simply through a conversation I can personally shape those changes.

The frustrating part of this experience was that when the relationship did not work Caspian blamed it singularly on the girl's religion and used that one experience as incontrovertible proof that his former stance had been correct. He is once again convinced that religion is nothing more than a tool of alienation.

I realized that people are wonderfully malleable, but they do not want to be, so whenever they have a chance to revoke a personal change, no matter how positive it may have been, they will do so. That is a tragedy. It takes so much willpower to change in the first place that I hate to see how easily we are willing to wipe away all of that hard work for nothing more than a hollow "I told you so" that probably will not even ring true in our own ears.

*Name change for the internet because I'm a good person like that.