Keep Pushing by Ashley

Keep Pushing by Ashley - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

I've read many quotes on failing in life. A lot of those quotes are great. One quote that has inspired and influence me is a quote from Maya Angelou. The quote says you may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it. This quote has taught me it's going to be alright if you fail, not to beat myself up, and to never give up.

I have always been afraid to fail. I am the kind of person who wants to get things right the first time. Not to long ago I was placed on my first academic suspension. I was very upset, this was the first time in my life I had ever failed that bad. I was beginning to fall into a deep depression because I felt like I had let my whole family down. After reading this quote I felt some kind of hope that I could comeback and succeed. Many other family members and even my advisor told me about there experiences with academic suspension which made me feel better. Yet I still felt bad and the thought of such a big failure weighed heavy on my mind.

Being on academic suspension I constantly thought about what I could have done to prevent all of this. I felt so ashamed and beat myself up for everything that happened. This quote has taught me that beating myself up and staying in the past won't help you get back on track. Making mistakes is apart of life and part of being successful. Accepting my failures and figuring out how to get back on track gave me new motivation. I was determined to get back in school and become the first in my family to graduate from College.

Maya Angelou's quote has inspired me to keep pushing and working toward my goal of graduating from College. I took some classes, read a lot of books, and worked while I was on suspension. I reapplied at the University of Houston and hope to be back in the fall if I can get enough scholarships. I am learning to accept that I am going to fail sometimes in life but, I need to learn from my mistakes and maintain a positive attitude through failing.

Overall the quote from Maya Angelou has inspired me to keep moving through failure. Stopping to dwell on the past and what you could have done can block you from learning and creating progress to get on track to a successful life. Being on academic suspension helped me realize that it is okay to fail. Many of the worlds most successful people have failed but they kept trying and now they are enjoying much success. Failure happens for a reason. My failures have made me stronger and add to the my journey of being a television producer.