As spring break has sprung upon us, I have ended up spending my week back in the Twilight Zone of my hometown, and with that, I planned a visit to my old high school for a couple of fantastic teachers. And what I realized was that I totally took my education for granted.

At this present moment that our society is in, education is something that we all see as necessary, but we kind of overlook its necessity -- if that makes sense. Yes, we recognize that we should all gain an education, but once we are done being force fed facts, opinions, and readings, it boils down to the idea that we don't realize the importance of it until it is gone.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- that one book that we all had to read at least once in high school and you probably could’ve cared less when you did -- Scout sees her ability to read as just another mundane skill, until she feared that she would never be able to read again; this was the birth of one of my favorite literary quotes, “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Which tenderly reminds me that we often see our education as a right, not a privilege. And for me, I do think that everyone has the right to learn, but unfortunately, I sometimes fail to realize that not everyone has an equal access to education. For some, learning is a luxury.

Though unfair, it is true. At times, I take for granted something that others do not even have access to, and that is selfish of me. Education, as a whole, has the power to change the world. The ability to read can have the ability to change someone’s whole entire life -- something so basic that we all take for granted; something that I, for one, am grateful for.

We are lucky to have the ability to learn at our fingertips. We are very lucky to have access to education. However, it is essential that, as a society, we start prioritizing education instead of deeming it as expendable. It is important that we collectively advocate for a progressive education system that prioritizes the success of students, that takes better care of students, and that looks out for our teachers.

I meet a lot of people in the acting world who are very different from me, and with diverse crowds, I always get to hear a variety of stories from a plethora of different backgrounds. Recently, while on a set, one of the men struck up a conversation about education. When he was younger, he confessed that he had no idea his school was poor -- he just assumed that not all schools had unlimited access to books for the classroom, or that not all schools had adequate facilities for their students. It was not until he was older that he realized that his education was just not a priority for his state. And it was a humbling example of how much we let education fall by the wayside.

I have been blessed in my educational careers. I have had a majority of teachers who have always supported me and were there when I needed them. I am fortunate to be where I am today. But there are some people who do not have that privilege or the access to information at their fingertips, and those are the ones who need to be advocated for. If we want a better future, we are going to have to give a better education to our younger generation.