Patience by Eve

Patience by Eve - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

I have learned many things from my teachers and professors over the years, but I think that the most important lesson that I have “learned” from a professor is to be patient even when you do not want to be.

One semester I had to take a course with a professor that I did not particularly like, and whom I knew did not have a great reputation among students who had to work with him before. Since this was a class I was required to take, I had no choice but to suck it up and do the best that I could. There were many times where I nearly wanted to cry because I felt that I was being scolded for not understanding what I was to do next or because I wanted to make sure I completely understood the directions. I, however, did not want him or my classmates to see the way that this was affecting me.

After a few weeks of the course I learned to separate the information I needed to know from the tone that the information was given to me. At one point, the professor called out a student, not by name, who completely missed the mark with the assignment—that student was me. I was angry and upset that he basically called me out if front of the whole class instead of talking to me personally about the assignment, but I decided that I would take it in stride and move on with the experience.

While, this is not a lesson directly taught by my professor, it is something that will be important throughout my life in both my educational career and professional career.