A personally defining moment of my life this year was when I went to visit St. Olaf college. I guess the way I viewed life changed. Before, I never really knew what college was. Well, I knew it was school and you went for the career you wanted but I didn’t know how it was run or what it was like. I started becoming interested in colleges when I was thinking about my high school career. I was thinking about why grades mattered and why we are supposed to try in school. Good grades in high school means, well, what? It means good college. Well what does that mean, exactly? That means good education which means good chance at your next step in life; choosing where you are going to spend your life working. It all comes down to the end of your life. Having good grades in high school actually very much influences how your life will play out. That is essentially why I began thinking about colleges for me and my interests. Being in eighth grade, there is a ton of wiggle room and I expect that my dreams and goals will change. Visiting St. Olaf was like looking at college through binoculars. You can aim at anything and see it in detail. Before I focused them, I saw college as a blurry thing in the distance. Now that I have focused them, I see its importance and significance in my life. I saw all the reasons why high school is important. I saw my future life. Now, my binoculars are always in focus-no matter where I look.