Every student has their own perspective on how important education is to them. For most, this ideal stays relatively constant throughout their years of schooling. However, that was not the case for me. Education has become much more important to me throughout my high school years than it used to be. Throughout my elementary years, I often fell short of my parents’ expectations.
My older brother set the precedent of excellent grades, and when I didn’t meet those expectations, my parents were left disappointed. I had accepted that my brother was the “smart one” and I was mediocre at best, and that was how it was always going to be. I had assumed that some people are born smart and others simply are not capable of achieving such things. Consequently, I figured that there wasn’t any point in trying my best because I assumed I would never improve regardless of my efforts. It wasn’t until middle school that I began to have a different outlook.
My dad scolded me for getting C’s and D’s because he knew I wasn’t actually trying my best, but for a long time, I just didn’t understand why it was important. I convinced myself that I was giving my all on every test and every assignment that I completed, but my dad saw right through that, despite the fact that I believed it. He explained to me why I needed to break out of that mindset and actually put forth my best work with everything I do. At first, I wasn’t entirely convinced doing that would even change anything, but I gave it a shot to try to please my parents.
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I began studying hard and my grades slowly began to improve. It was difficult breaking away from the mindset I was stuck in for so long; I would often get frustrated as soon as something got difficult and wanted to quit because I thought I couldn’t do it. I definitely had setbacks and wanted to go back to not having to try, but I knew I would only improve if I put forth effort. I constantly had to remind myself of what my dad told me in order to keep trying and to not give up. Around sophomore year is when my grades began to really reflect the effort I had been putting in.
Even though I mostly got B’s with a few A’s, it was still a huge improvement from my former grades. I began to see results that I never thought I would see and started using that as motivation. The better my grades got, the more I wanted to improve. I began to enjoy learning and challenging myself to improve my skills. During the last two quarters of my junior year, I achieved straight A’s at the end of the grading periods and earned Honor Roll for the first time ever. I was even awarded an Academic Letter this year! This was the first time I have felt truly proud of my grades and how far I’d come in my academics.
I became more strict about my attendance, too. The only days I allow myself to miss school are for either family-related matters or field trips, even then, I am reluctant to miss school those days. My academics are one of my highest priorities now and I am eager to continue my education. A strong work ethic lays the foundation of success. The work ethic I have established over my high school years has taught me to work hard for what I want, whether that be relating to my academics, future career, or otherwise. Success does not come easy, and one must be willing to put in the work and effort to achieve it.
