The John Locke Essay Competition, hosted by the John Locke Institute, draws tens of thousands of young thinkers every year, but this year, sophomore Angela Li’s writing stood out. Selected from an international pool of 60,000 contestants, Li’s work earned her a place on the worldwide shortlist and a chance for her to reflect on how writing shapes her understanding of the psychology topic she chose to explore.
The shortlist honor recognizes a writer’s ability to think critically, write creatively and strengthen their understanding of shaping argumentative essays. The question Li decided to answer was, “Eleanor Roosevelt declared, ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ Is she right?”. Li then discussed the societal pressures people face and how they balance them with personal strength. Li likes interesting topics that can lead to meaningful discussions; psychology resonates with her, making it her chosen topic. Li believes the experience helped her see writing as a way to share her perspective and gain new insights from others.
“[When] attending the event, they also had speakers come up and talk about important things. I learned during the event, one speaker was saying how writing can actually help you learn more and I think [that’s] really true. I got to meet people from many different countries, and see their experiences in their lives,” Li said.
Sophomore Hannah Chan is a close friend of Li’s and was with her when she got the offer from the John Locke Institute to attend the competition on their way to physics class. Chan also proofread the essay, noting how it was very extensive, showing Li’s effort and energy put into her work.
“She seemed really shocked. I don’t think she expected she would be receiving the chance to compete, but she was pretty happy,” Chan said. “I was telling her that it was definitely possible that she could win, and she didn’t believe me. So when she finally got the confirmation, I was a bit surprised, but I also knew she had it in her to do it. I was happy for her.”
Sophomore Sophia Teodosio was also a receiver of the news. She was happy to hear that Li was able to get into the competition for the topic and that Li was able to go out and share her thoughts.
“[Angela] got to spend time in London and explore the area before she was able to go into the competition. She also got to meet a lot of people there and it was cool for her. She likes to go on and talk about [the way the world works, or how people work] with a lot of passion. Picking psychology was a really good choice for her, because she [got] to write about it and analyze how the brain works—or just how people work in general—in this world,” Teodosio said.
