How My Least Favorite Subject Taught Me the Most by Bailey

How My Least Favorite Subject Taught Me the Most by Bailey - August 2016 Scholarship Essay

As a student whose favorite subject is English, it would be easy for me to say that the class I learned the most from was literature or creative writing. I could easily say that reading Steinbeck or Fitzgerald taught me invaluable life lessons or that in studying the rhetoric of John F. Kennedy's speeches I learned the crucial skill of effective communication. But the reality of my situation is that studying poetry and writing short stories made me a better English student, not a better student overall. In fact, it was my least favorite class— math— which advanced me most as a student.
In my case, my aversion towards math was not for a lack of understanding, but a lack of patience. I hated its methodical nature, despised the countless times I had to check my work to ensure I had the right answer. When I began to take calculus, math took even more of my time. After school, I was forced to work on tedious homework assignments, prioritizing anti-derivatives over my preferred writing assignments for English.
But even as I began to loathe math for taking so much of my time, I was gaining skills that had previously gone undeveloped. As an underclassman, school came easily to me. While many of my classmates spent hours upon hours studying for tests or completing assignments, I took a lazier approach that yielded the same results. But as school, math in particular, grew more difficult for me, I had to learn how to work hard. Throughout the course, calculus taught me the meaning of one hundred percent effort and exceeding expectations.
As the year progressed, my newly acquired work ethic began to seep into my mentality regarding other subjects. Rather than procrastinate, I accomplished tasks as soon as I was given them. Instead of haphazardly completing homework assignments at lunch, I worked effortfully on them at home. And in place of lackadaisical study habits and prayers for a good grade, I took hours to fully prepare for tests.
So, while the concepts I learned in Algebra and Trigonometry may not have made me a better student, the work and time I took to understand them did. As a student, I understand the value of hard work and can see the results not only in the tangible difference in my grades, but also in my attitude about learning. The values math has taught me have transformed me into a better student and, better yet, a better thinker.