I Had to Learn to Work Hard by Aleeyah

I Had to Learn to Work Hard by Aleeyah - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

Out of the thousands of movies I have watched in my lifetime, one quote stuck out for me; “It’s not how you start, but it’s how you finish.” I do not remember who spoke these words or what movie it was from, but I do know that its meaning relates to me in so many ways.

My father started out spoiling me and never stressed education, he only stressed just fun. My mother, on the other hand, did stress education but never had the time to instill it in my three siblings and I. My mother worked two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table every week. My parents were separated at this point so I spent week days with my mother and weekends with my father. At my mother’s house I never did my homework or studied, and when I was with my dad I sure did not care about school work. I started off very bad in my educational career.

In elementary school I could not pay attention. I did not try and I did not care to learn about any subjects. I spent time with many specialists who tried to help me spell and read but everything sort of clicked late. It took longer for me to understand basic school concepts. I felt like an infant in a regular child’s body. My mother was upset about all the parent-teacher conferences she had to attend because of my poor grades, but still had no time to personally help me. My father was never worried about my future, just concerned with the now. My older siblings had to live their own lives. No person had time to help me, so I just continued to not work hard and be lazy.

In middle school things got worse. My mother ended up going back to college on top of working and being a mother. That meant she had less time to focus on us. My brother and sisters were either in high school or graduated by then, so they had no time to help me then. My mother and father legally divorced around this time so he came around less. When he did come, I was still spoiled rotten. I also started meeting friends and hanging out with them other than trying to focus on my school work. I fully neglected my studies at an early age and I became utterly lazy. I never went out of my way to work hard for anything, I quit every sport I tried, I never finished any projects, and I never finished any school assignment whether I was in school or not.

It was not until the end of my freshman year that I realized that there was so much for me to accomplish in. I saw that things were not going to be handed to me on a silver platter anymore. My grades were not up to my parents anymore. My social life cannot be the only life I have. I learned that spending time studying and doing homework leads to A’s. If I get A’s in high school, I could go to college. I never knew college was even an option until I buckled down and worked for what I wanted. I wanted to be the first college graduate in my family, so I studied hard and practiced Track and Field every day and studied all the time so I can achieve my dream. I know I did not have a strong start in my life, but I promise you I will have a spectacular finish.