Try Everything Once by Brittany

Try Everything Once by Brittany - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Try everything once, except the hard drugs”- Anthony Melvin.
Mr.Melvin is a high school elective teacher that I have looked up to since the first day I sat in his class. He is a man of infinite wisdom and having the opportunity to learn from him every day was something I never took for granted. If you took his classes you heard many “Melvinisms”. I was fortunate enough to have taken every class taught by Mr.Melvin and I couldn’t name another teacher that prepared me more for the real world.
The most important lesson I have learned from any teacher was “Try everything once, except the hard drugs”. I graduated high school and started college when I was 16 years old. Everyone had some advice for me upon graduation but the most memorable lesson learned was from Mr. Melvin. It seems like a simple thing to say, nothing significant enough to write an essay about. But for me, the lesson he taught was life changing.
I was the quiet smart kid that sat in the front row and answered questions with a red face and shaky voice even though I knew my answers were always right. I followed the rules. I played on the safe side. I never took risks because the thought of anything short of success petrified me. The day Mr.Melvin told our class you owe it to yourself to try everything once, it felt like he was talking directly to me. I found myself in the cafeteria that day eating fish. I had never tried seafood before but I promised myself that I would begin to “try everything once”.
A month later I was playing varsity lacrosse and I had been practicing a left handed shot but I was always so nervous in games I could barely shoot right handed. I looked up at the start of one game and saw Mr.Melvin at the ticket table. I knew I had to try my left handed shot. Try everything once. It was a terrible shot and I missed the goal by more than a foot but I was so proud of myself for trying.
Sophomore year began and I was the quiet smart kid with a new outlook on life. I decided to graduate a year early and go to college. It seemed like a crazy idea but I had been taught to try. I had been taught that you don’t get what you don’t try for. I had been taught to try everything once. This lesson essentially taught me that failure was occasionally acceptable and being the best wasn’t always necessary. Sometimes you just have to try something, regardless of the possible outcomes. Sometimes you have to try something no matter how terrifying the unknown can be.
I have been asked many times who my favorite teacher was and why. I always tell people Mr.Melvin is my favorite teacher because he changed my life. He taught me to try everything once and I wouldn’t be where I am today if I was still the quiet smart kid with a shaky voice and an overwhelming fear of failure.