Failure is the Only Opportunity to Begin Again by Bethany

Failure is the Only Opportunity to Begin Again by Bethany - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

Spring semester of my sophomore year in college was probably the hardest I have ever had. I had some personal events happen. For example, my great grandma passed away. I was also involved in a car accident, resulting in my car being totaled and taken away. I had some phone issues, which made it hard to keep in contact with my family. In addition, my father had a cancer scare. To continue, I had one of my closest friends that I have went to school with since middle school transfer out of state for soccer. Another one of my friends that I met while in college, left to serve in the National Guard. To sum it up, the path to success this semester was not clear, there were a few road blocks in my way. There were also some challenges when it came to class. My grade was dropped half way through semester because my instructor made an honest mistake entering the grades wrong. I understood her mistake, but I got frustrated. I was frustrated because I thought I was doing super in the class, but than half way through I had to change my study skills and everything I was doing because it wasn’t good enough to have my grades where I wanted. The nursing program requires students to have an 80% to pass. There were also issues with cheating in the class. Our testing format was changed and made harder with only one month of school left. There were rules changed about if and when we could see our tests. Rules from the college’s nursing handbook were changed without notifying us students. As you could imagine, there were a lot of emotional students, upset parents, and iffy grades.
With all of these changes, frustrations, and road blocks I continued to do best and work hard. I knew getting into this, nursing school would not be easy. I was told before that nursing school is like finals week every week. I spent countless hours studying. I studied on my own, in my dorm. I had my roommates help me study, by doing flashcards. I spent time in the library. I got together with classmates. I visited the nursing tutor whenever I was confused or needed special help. I set up meetings with my advisor and instructor. I studied like it was my full time job outside of classroom and clinical. I did not have much time to spend with friends. I also did not have much time to participate in fun school activities, like bingo and the talent show. I did not get the chance to go out and be the social butterfly that I am to meet new people. The only new people I met were my four other roommates.
This semester I unfortunately did not pass. I did not meet the 80% mark. I finished with a 2.8 GPA. This semester was definitely an eye opener. As I stated earlier, it was the hardest semester I’ve had so far in life. This semester had lots of up and downs. I did not finish with the grade or GPA I wanted. It is frustrating for me because I know I tried. I put plenty of time in studying and even had nights I just broke down crying. The only free time I had was to eat a meal. I only come home in case of emergency or when there were important things to take care of. I know what to do when it comes to clinical and real life, I just cannot do well on tests. There was a few changes in the program and some drama, but I did my part to stick up for myself and what I believe I honestly deserve. There came a point in time where my voice no longer mattered. I just had to suck it up and keep going. I could sit here and blame the school. I could also sit here and blame myself. Instead though, I am going to keep my head up and do what I need to do. Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. I know there is a time in life when things get harder, before than can get easier. Some people, possibly me, are like glow sticks. Some people need to break before they can shine. I plan on looking forward, faking a smile, staying strong, and moving on.