CO by Casey

CO by Casey - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

As a teenager, especially one in high school, you think you know everything. You think that whatever your parents say is irrelevant or whatever your friends say don't matter because you think that you know whats best for you. Which is true most of the time, the only person that knows yourself better than you is you, However that doesn't mean you shouldn't take advice every once in awhile or some constructive criticism, but then again you're in high school so you're probably not going to want any of that. Myself for example was one of those kids my parents would always tell me what to do cause their my parents of course family members would try to give me advice, even my bosses at work would try to "help" me out as well, but being a teenager in high school I didn't really give much thought about it. Now that i'm in college when I look back on the advice i was given in high school the one that really stood out to me, besides the many lessons from my parents, was the one my English teacher Mrs. Fox gave to me in my last year of high school.

I was never really that good in English to be honest, but i always tried my hardest except in the second semester of high school. Senioritis was hitting me very hard especially in English class. I didn't do my assignments much i barley paid attention because i was thinking I'm still going to graduate who cares? Well my teacher cared. On probably the tenth time that semester where i took the bathroom pass to go see some friends in another classroom my teacher actually went out looking for me, and when she found me I knew that i was probably never going to get a bathroom pass ever again, which did happen. Now keep in mind that I have very strict parents and if my teacher had told them about this I honestly don't know what could've happen. But instead of calling my parents or taking me to the deans she told me to stay behind after class. Since i had lunch next period, and was glad she wasn't going to call anybody I agreed. So thirty minutes later after everyone else was gone and I was left to Mrs. Fox. At first I was scared that she was going to make me call my own parents which would have been way worse but instead she sat down with me and showed me my tardies and absences for my other classes not only that but she showed me my grades as well with my other classes. She told me how first quarter I was great no absences or late excuses and my GPA was a 4.1 next quarter pretty much the same thing, but then she showed third quarter where my tardies were piling up my GPA went to a 3.1 and i just wasn't in the right mindset. When she asked me why this was going on and to be truthful with her I told her how I just got kinda lazy and didn't really care much. After telling me this I instantly felt bad because she had a look of disappointment on her face. She said to me if she thinks my parents are lazy people and I replied with no and she replied then why should I be. She told me whats the point in achieving something if you're going to be lazy about it. The best feeling is putting all your work into something and being able to be proud of the results. She asked me if I did good my junior year of high school and I replied with yes. When she asked if I was proud of myself, when I look back on how good I did that year I realized I was. When I made that realization it made me feel bad for myself because I wasn't putting in all my effort, how was I supposed to go to college when i barley made it past my last year of high school. So after that talk she let me go to lunch obviously she also said if i ever show up late to her class or sneak out she was calling my parents which I expected. But that one on one experience with my teacher changed my view, the rest of the school year I got my grades up paid more attention in class and went back to the person that I am right now.

The advice that my teacher gave me applies to everything in the world and I still keep it with me. My parents have told me this "fact" more times than they should've but Obama didn't get to where he is by being lazy. My mother works from the morning to night trying to get money to get me to college, if she ever knew I was lazy it would kill her, and she'd probably kill me too. No one gets through this life without putting all you have into it and i'm glad my teacher was able to help me understand that.