The Hurdle That Could Be Jumped by Faith

The Hurdle That Could Be Jumped by Faith - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Math has never been my favorite subject, in fact it has been my worst subject ever since multiplication came along and confused my brain cells. I was able to get straight A’s in my middle school math classes, but once high school came, math became hard. The theorems and lines of geometry were confusing; Algebra 2/Trigonometry presented a whole different language in itself. My teachers were no help, and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t understand. Then my Junior year of high school, I enrolled in Pre-Calculus. It was difficult, at first. I already possessed the mindset that I was not going to do well in the class.
The teacher asked me how I could improve my test scores, and I had responded saying that I wasn’t a math person, so I couldn’t do any better. She told me, “There’s no such thing as a non-math person, you have to get rid of your negative mindset.” That’s what changed my thinking.
From that point, I would go home, look at my notes, and identify exactly what it was that I didn’t understand. The next day I would come to class and clarify the concepts I didn’t understand. I would utilize class time to work on homework and asks questions on problems I didn’t get.
By the end of the second semester, Pre-Calculus was my best class. I started to consistently get high A’s on all the tests, and for the first time when the final came around, I wasn’t worried about my grade in the class.
Although it was hard and took a lot of effort, I was able to overcome the negative barrier that I had created for myself in my mind. By jumping over that hurdle, I forced myself to keep going forward until I achieved the result I wanted.