Three Pieces of Advice... by Brett

Three Pieces of Advice... by Brett - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

An open letter to any upcoming students, high school freshmen, upcoming middle schoolers, or even younger: always have confidence in the abilities oneself, and never let caution get away. It may sound dramatic or cynical to address school in such a manner, but in the end, when it comes down to the final hours of high school, and the void of reality opens up, one tends to look around hoping for a life preserver to keep afloat in this sea of confusion and there’s no better life preserver than oneself. Of course in this dramatic metaphor it’s referring “oneself” to achievements throughout young life. To define achievements, in academic sense, there’s three things to make sure to have confidently under one's belt.
Number one on the list previously mentioned would be your Grade Point Average, or GPA for short. This is where caution and much attention is required. A single mistake can completely ruin your GPA and make academic pursuits harder to follow later in life. To bump up a semester’s grade in a class from borderline failing to an ‘A’ will only save about 0.02 points on one's overall GPA (depending on class value). Seems kinda scary considering the amount of work one would have to put in to get onto an exceptional GPA range, so get the act together and do it right the first time around.
Number two on the list would be: volunteerism. Colleges, and most communities since the dawn of time, are looking for active members in their community. To be active in one’s community, it’s gonna take some serious self responsibility though. One has to be strong both mentally and emotionally. It sounds like a complex demand, but it’s simple to break it down those core values. To be mentally strong will require critical thinking and ingenuity. One has to understand how to apply one’s knowledge that he or she has to a situation, to understand, what is the problem, how to get from point A from point B, then where to go from there.To be emotionally strong, one must understand one another, it’s hard since not everybody has had the same upbringing, but with an unconditional positive regard for one another, it’s easier to connect to one another. Beyond that, the only thing left to do is to keep an ear out to anyone in need.
Number three on the list of three is: Ambition. Have a plan to get from start to finish (goals). This plan doesn’t have to encompass all of the little details, but it should give a decent line of sight to the goal to prevent getting lost in all the trivial things in life. People also respect a person who’s got a passion, drive or a dream they want to achieve, it shows determination. If one doesn’t have that in mind when someone asks them, it sorta shows that they don’t take things seriously or they’re lacking of responsibility to one’s self.
Beyond that, there's nothing much to it. School, getting accepted into a college, and earning scholarships might seem like it’s all left to fate, luck and intractable, but it’s quite the opposite. If you can get these three things checked off and presented in an orderly fashion to wherever you want to go, you should have no problem getting anywhere you want to. Relax and get pumped! college is just around the corner!