With the spooky season ending and Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I would write some articles on the things I am most thankful for that many people take for granted.

The first is an education.

As a female, being able to receive an education is a privilege that many women in other countries are still fighting for. No one chooses where they are born so the fact that I grew up in a country that doesn’t reserve education for one gender is a stroke of luck.

An argument can, and will, be made regarding limitations put on various groups due to geographic and economic standing but that’s for another article.

Not only is my education a privilege, but my ability to get involved in the professional field (whether I choose medicine or scientific research) is a factor of career mobility that also isn’t available to many people.

Many people find the inconvenience of assignments, tests, and bad grades as a struggle of being a teenager. However, education is actually an advantage of growing up in an industrialized nation. The late-nights and the failed assignments are part of what is currently revolutionizing our nation. Advances in science and engineering all originate from a student staying up late and studying – it’s the nature of the scientific beast. Great writers, creative architects, and persuasive lawyers are products of hard work in school.

My education has given me the ability to communicate my thoughts clearly, form an educated opinion, and better understand the world around me. Taking public speaking classes, being on the debate team, and attending classes outside of my major allowed me to reinforce my pre-existing abilities as well as broaden my horizons.

My education has tested who I am and who I can be. It has taught me what it means to see a goal and want to achieve it. When assignments get challenging and it seems easier to quit, I motivate myself to strive for the high grade because of the positive impacts it will have for my future (see my pre-med article).

My education has also surrounded me with people that have become life-long friends. I’m not sure how else I would have met the people closest to me if not through school. My time in high school and college has allowed me to find other students with the same interests as me as well as people who, through different majors and mindsets, see the world in a completely different way.

When you think about it, your education shapes who you are. Your interests are introduced and explained to you during your education. You discover your career goals and learn to become the type of person that has the drive to chase after what you want, even when it gets challenging. Your relationships with other people, another major factor in shaping you, are typically introduced and maintained through your time spent in school.

So the next time you are frustrated by having to learn the Pythagorean theorem, think about how many people around the world are fighting for the ability to learn and what your education has done for you thus far.