Learning How to Learn by Dhrithi

Learning How to Learn by Dhrithi - August 2023 Scholarship Essay

As I walked into my first class of the semester at my new high school, I felt a thumping in my heart. Although I had met a few people in my dorms before coming to class, I still didn’t know anyone in the classroom, and neither did I have any experience with college classes. In ninth grade, I had heard of a school that accepts students to take college courses at a college during their last two years of high school. The program intrigued me with the fact that I could use these credits to finish my college career earlier, but there were so many other advantages that I acquired from getting accepted into this program, making this my biggest achievement during my education.

My first class of the semester was precalculus, and my professor was very interesting. The lesson he introduced first in class was about inductions, which was a very complicated concept. Throughout the first few weeks, I made a few friends who I could talk to in this class about the problems I was facing and we would also study together. Reaching out to people and making friends was difficult for me, but it still got me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to communicate with other people.

Finally, the first exam was approaching, which according to our professor would be the most difficult exam. The week before the exam, I studied all of my notes and the questions that were gone over in class endlessly. I also went over the review with my friends multiple times and believed I had studied to the best of my abilities. Finally, the exam day was here and my friends and I walked to class while re-reviewing our notes once more. Once again, our professor reminded us that this would be the most difficult exam, and he hoped that we had studied very well for it, making everyone feel anxious once again. The exam was over, and a week later, I got my grade, which was a C grade. Although I had put in much effort to study for this exam, I still didn’t get the best grade I could, making me a bit disappointed. However, this taught me a lesson about putting in hard work to achieve the best results. I talked to my professor and asked him questions when I didn’t understand a concept, helping me to understand the concepts he introduced in class. As the semester went by, I was learning an essential lesson in how to study. I had to ask people for help, and not be discouraged by negative experiences that happened in the past, instead these negative experiences should fuel me to put in the most effort possible when studying for anything.