Learn a Lesson from Progression by Andrew

Learn a Lesson from Progression by Andrew - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

I was so excited when I graduated high school as everyone is because it a special milestone that students are looking forward to throughout their educational career. I graduated high school with honors, played sports, and was involved in several clubs so I was highly involved. With that being said I was so ecstatic for college and the new experiences that it would bring as well as the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and take on responsibility. Little did I know that there would be many distractions, obstacles, and temptations that your parents, teachers, and friends could not tell you but that you had to push through and learn from when they presented themselves when you got on your own.
When I got to campus everything was so surreal and awesome. My freshman year I attended the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. It started off so awesome I was meeting so many cool people, learning about the opportunities on campus, attending different events, and just living the college life. With me being an honor roll student my whole life I expected to go to college and do the same as high school but instead I was doing well on my assignments but failing important things like tests and quizzes and settling for grades that I never made because my study habits were not effective. I got very comfortable and complacent, involved with the wrong crowd, and ended up on academic probation for the first and second semester. However I was able to appeal getting kicked out for not maintaining the minimum GPA. I had to realize that my studying habits and the time I put into studying was not feasible for being successful in the class.
I ended up not going back anyways because I landed a temporary job at Metlife here in Charlotte; my hometown. So I worked there and attended classes at Central Piedmont Community College because my grades were too low to get into the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. This was a great opportunity to soul search for myself and realize that my intent had to be in the right place if I wanted to get through college. So with me working and going to class I trained myself on adult responsibility. I realized that the more productive things you do with your time, the better your grades will be. Its been studied and proven and I had to reminisce on when I was in high school because I was very involved. When I went to Pembroke I was not getting involved like I should have been and I used my intent and time for things that were not benefiting my future. Going to CPCC and working in my second year of college helped me to get back on track and realize what it means to grow up and gain responsibility for myself. I ended up transferring to UNCC and getting accepted and now that is where im currently at studying English and Sociology so I can become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to do therapy and community work.
Ive learned over these past few years since being on academic probation for a whole year when I was a freshman that everything is about intention. I was not waking up everyday with intent to get good grades, get involved, manage my time, and progress. I was worried about having fun and finally being on my own. Nonetheless I listened to my parents as well as other wise individuals that steered me right and thankfully I was that horse that drank the water. I learned that life is all about progression. We all make mistakes, fall short, get distracted, and things like that because we are all human but at the end of the day it is all about progression, learning from your mistakes, and working on yourself to be the best that you can be in life.