Essay Sample on Experience is the Best Teacher

The saying that goes ‘Experience is the best teacher’ has been one I heard since my childhood and even as a young adult, I still find myself in situations where I agree very strongly with the saying. Every experience gained at any age is valuable but some have lasting effects than others.

The mind of a child as Plato said and I am paraphrasing is like a blank slate, to be written on by experiences. As a ‘Blank slate’ every experience, from the first time at the beach to the first road trip all seem larger than life experiences that the child will carry into adulthood. This child may develop a strong affinity to the beach and may even find solace at the beach when the challenges of adulthood seem overwhelming. 

The friends made as children leave us with memories we long for and cherish for the rest of our lives that even as adults we still have this strong desire for those ‘Perfect times’ like on the playground when we had no worries and our biggest headaches were if our friends would still remain our friends after the long holidays. 

As teenagers, we begin to see the world a little clearer, it’s almost as if the rose-colored glasses of our childhood are taken off and we see things a little clearer. Friendships aren’t as simple anymore and our worries are now seemingly more complicated. We need to navigate the world equipped with nothing but trust in ourselves as young adults. The decisions we make during this time may shape our future because at this age we decide our first boyfriend who may set the precedent for future boys we will date. At this age we will decide whether we will go to college or not, where we will go to study, maybe in our local community or we will go interstate. These decisions as well as the experiences that come along with it, may eventually play a huge role in what type of an adult we grow up to be. 

I personally think the experiences gained as teenagers have a much bigger influence on who we turn out to become in the future. The stakes are much higher as a young adult, the wide array of experiences and the consequences therein are much more than the ones gained as a child so much so that they remain with us and guide our actions as we navigate adulthood. The challenges we face as teenagers are more or less the same as adults and the experiences gained during those formative years shine a light on our path as we journey into the future.