There have been times that I’ve felt what I was learning was pointless. I wanted to go into a STEM field, what in the world was I doing in a history class? The truth of the matter though, was that those English and history classes taught me more than what was just on the syllabus. By sitting through that yawn-inducing lecture and studying hours of notes I learned an important lesson.
Buckling down and getting my work done, as my dad would put it. This was so difficult for me because previous to high school, I never really had to try. In elementary and middle school I was considered gifted, and I never had to try to get above the other students. Later on, being gifted really kicked me in the butt.
When I hit high school I found that I wasn’t flying through lessons with ease. Suddenly, I wasn’t doing better than everyone else. I had been an advanced student as a child, but now I was at the same level as everyone else. The difference between me and them though, was that I didn’t know how to try. I had to teach myself how to study and take notes, keep my attention in class, and not give up when I didn’t understand a topic. This is where the history and English classes became so vital. I didn’t enjoy the material much and I struggled with getting my work done in those classes. Because of this, my grades dropped. At some point, I realized I had two options. I could not try, and end up getting bad grades, or I could start putting in the effort and be rewarded for it. So, I decided to buckle down and learn how to be a good student. Sure, it was difficult, but it was so worth it. I would say in my 3 years in high school, learning how to try when it’s the last thing I wanted to do has been one of the most valuable skills I’ve learned.
I’m encouraging anyone who’s reading this to take the more difficult road. Do the things that you may not want to do, even if you’re scared, or it seems like a lot of work. Do the things you don’t want to do because you don’t want to do them. Take advantage of every opportunity you’re given because it’s so worth it. Join your school’s sports team. Sign up for that volunteer spot. Start that club. Do whatever you can because, in the end, this is the life you’ve been given. You can choose to do nothing or make the most out of something.
This is a great and original perspective you wrote about. It is as if you lived the same life as me, it feels very relatable yet it is still unique to your life and experiences. I love how the theme is at the end and you had amazing concluding statements. Have you considered separating that big paragraph into two sections? I suggest having a new paragraph when you say, “At some point,” because I think it would help with the overall flow and organization. Overall this is very good!
Started the essay off nicely with a viewpoint, questioning school but changed viewpoint throughout the essay and explained it well.
I liked the story-like structure of your essay, it kept me really engaged throughout the whole thing. The beginning of the third paragraph might be a little redundant as you had already gotten to highschool in the second paragraph but it might also be that you started talking about middle school at the end of the second paragraph so you reiterate the fact that you’re talking about high school again.