New Jersey by Angelica

New Jersey by Angelica - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

Being a Senior in high school, you start to feel lackadaisical and lazy about schoolwork and studying for tests and quizzes. You've applied to numerous colleges and have already received acceptance letters. In a few months, you'll decide which college to attend, and your last year of high school now consists of playing games on your laptop and socializing with your friends. This is what they call Senioritis. It is a dangerous disease that contaminates about 95% of Seniors, and I am one of them.
It was during the basketball season when my Senioritis began to bite me in the back. I was focused on upcoming tournaments that I disregarded most of my schoolwork. That wasn't a good idea, considering the fact that I was enrolled in a Calculus class. Everyone has that one subject that they cannot understand no matter how much they study. Calculus is that class for me. Although, to play Devil's advocate a little bit, I admit that I didn't put as much effort as I could into learning the lessons.
My teacher assigned a quiz the day after one of my games. I just remember being exhausted the night before, so I didn't bother studying. Being as naive as I am, I figured I would be fine for the quiz. Well, I was completely wrong. I came into class a few days later and received my quiz back. I got an eight percent. No - not an eight out of fifty. I received a four out of fifty, which calculates to eight percent. Never in my life have I gotten a grade in the single digits. I was absolutely dumbfounded. I knew I didn't do too well, but I didn't think it would be THAT bad.
Receiving an eight percent on a quiz was certainly an eye-opener for me. I am a particularly good student in school so seeing a grade that low shocked me - but I'm the type of person who learns from their mistakes. I don't like to pout and complain when I face hardships. I feel the urge to overcome it and be better. So that's exactly what I did. I started to actually read the textbook, do the practice problems in class, and stopped socializing so much. The grades on my next few quizzes and tests depicted the hard work I was putting in. I didn't receive straight A's, but there was lots of improvement being made.
This experience made me realize some things. It shows that you can't just get by in life in order to be successful. You have to work hard. Realizing that college starts in a few months, I knew I definitely had to change my study habits. College is more difficult than Senior year in high school so if I kept my old habits up, I knew I would have a rude awakening my first semester. This definitely put everything in perspective. I became more assertive and started to take initiative in improving my education. I am more motivated to learn in school.
In a way, I am thankful for being so naive because it has made me wiser and more responsible. I promised myself that I will never receive a score that low in my life again. In a few years, when I have a successful career and making good money, I'll remember receiving an eight percent in Calculus and laughing at my Senior self in high school.