You can only try as hard as you care... by Felicia

You can only try as hard as you care... by Felicia - May 2014 Scholarship Essay

I've always been mature for my age, and because of that, most of my friends are in college already. I'm the baby of the group, which is something I'm actually very grateful for. Due to this, I've gotten to see all my best friends go off to college... and then come home for Thanksgiving break, full of stories and pieces of advice for me for when I finally graduate high school and go to college. Though they've all given me a helpful piece of advice at some point or another, the one piece of advice that has always stuck with me came from my friend Corey when she was home for spring break in her junior year in college.

Corey was on her way home, and I was waiting at her house to surprise her. When all of your friends are going to college in different states, the rare opportunity to see them calls for a lot of sleepovers. As I see her Subaru (red racer, as we call it) pulling up the driveway, I couldn't wait to finally get to see her! I was ready to hear stories about college, laugh with her, and to get my head out of high school for a little bit. As she climbed out of her car, the first thing she told me was "You can only try as hard as you care." I didn't understand what she meant, so I let it slide and hugged her, assuming she was just tired.

As the night went on, we were up in her room after dinner watching a movie when she mentioned it again. Curious, I asked what she meant by it. She went on to tell me that so far, her junior year had consisted of the hardest classes she had yet to take, and that she was exhausted all the time. She never stopped trying though, because she, like me, is extremely dedicated to her education. No matter how hard she had to work, she did so because she cared about what she was doing. "'You can only try as hard as you care' can go both ways," she said, as she told me stories about her friends that were doing badly in classes only because they didn't care about them.

Today, I think about her piece of advice almost daily. When I think about not finishing my homework because I'm tired, I remember that I care about my education more than I care about (almost) anything else, which is all it takes to push me to finish that last bit of work for the night. I know that not caring can lead to not working hard, but I'm luckily a person who cares a lot about a lot of things, which inspires me to work hard in all aspects of my life. I care about my friends, so I work to be honest with them and ask about their lives. I care about my job, so I make sure that I'm on top of my game with every customer I assist. I care about my family, so I take whatever chances I get to help them however I can, even if it's just volunteering my time to help my grandpa clean his chicken pen. I care about myself, which is why I go to the gym, eat healthy foods, and get enough rest. Most importantly though, I care about my education, and despite illnesses and financial troubles, I've worked extremely hard to get to a point where I have the opportunity to go to a great college.

"You can only try as hard as you care" has become my motto. To get anywhere in life it is important to try hard and put my best effort forward. However, caring about what I do and knowing it's a worthwhile way to be spending my time validates all my hard work in my mind. Working hard isn't just about writing a great essay to get a good grade, it's about caring what you write, knowing that the content will display your authenticity and effort, which is what will be what gets you a good grade. Working hard, in tandem with caring about what I do, has been the key to my confidence in knowing that I will do great things with my life. You can only try as hard as you care, and caring is what has gotten me to this point.