Have you ever heard of the topic Civics? Well, if not, I can tell you that Civics has changed my life considerably. Civics is the study of the privileges, rights, and obligations of citizens in a society. Civics has allowed me to see the world in a different way, form new opinions for myself, and dive deeper into other things it’s exposed me to. You might be thinking how this possibly can change a teen girl’s life, but you’ll be surprised. I can really only blame this on my 8th grade year.
This all entails a devoted 8th grade teacher. One day, my teacher comes to the class during our Civics period with a test to see if anyone is brave enough to take it and try out for a team. She needs this team for a very first annual Civics Bee competition. Knowing myself and my competitiveness, I take the test and make it on the team. For the next three months, it was grind time. My Civics team met three times a week to review every small event that had happened in the American Revolution and the time that followed after it, to learn about the exact dates of important events like The Boston Tea Party, etc. This all paid off on competition day because…….WE WON!!
I didn’t realize it at that moment but I had grown a love for a new thing. History had always intrigued me, but learning about history that was so close to me and affected how I lived everyday was so dear to me. This really shaped how I wanted my future to look like. Civics inspired me to join clubs that I had never looked at like, Student Council, Debate Club, DECA, Student Ambassadors, Model UN, and Women and Men for Others.
Another blessed experience that I had was seeing the play Hamilton. For those of you who don’t know Hamilton is a musical that circles around the life of a founding father, Alexander Hamilton. The twist with this play is that it uses Hip-hop, Jazz, Rap, R&B, and an untraditional diverse cast to tell this story. This was a moment in my life where I have never been so excited about doing something. Weeks prior to this, I convinced all my friends to listen to the soundtrack with me. Only then did I find out this story had a touch of civics in it. This made me ecstatic to see it. Fast forward to the day off, I was dumbfounded when I saw the beautiful CIBC theater it was being held at. The play was magical. Characters like George Washington, Eliza, Lafayette, and Aaron Burr really stood out to me.
To this day, I still love Hamilton with all my heart. I’ve always had a love for music so this expanded on it by adding more songs to my favorites, and discovering there can be numerous ways to tell a story. While civics has been in my life, it wasn’t until after that play I realized I could do something with the knowledge. All of these experiences have pushed me more and more to what I see myself becoming in the future.
I have so much gratitude to that one special 8th grade teacher that nurtured my love for Civics as well as those two extraordinary experiences I had. When I say these experiences have shaped who I want to be in the future and how I see the world, I’m not joking. I have grown such a liking for Civics, I see myself becoming a human rights activist or lawyer. I want people to know that they have the right to have a say in their community, government, and world. I want people to know that they do not have to be silenced or forced to do anything. So try out Civics, maybe it’ll expose you to things you didn’t know about and tell you things you didn’t know about yourself.
Ariel Ferka – Loyola Academy – DMSF Class of 2030
Photo Credit: Igor – Adobe Stock