B stands for Boldness by Hai
Hai's entry into Varsity Tutor's July 2023 scholarship contest
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B stands for Boldness by Hai - July 2023 Scholarship Essay
It was that day when I saw my freshman physics grade, A “B,” Mom said. I guess the Asian in my mother was expecting more. In her imperfect English, she said, “Why did you get a B not an A?” My heart sank; it was my first ever B in my whole academic career. I always try to strive and put in the best effort for every class. But this B made me realize not all failures are bad.
At that point, B marked my two and a half years of immigrating to the United States and coming here with the mindset to try my best and grab all opportunities I would’ve never had in Vietnam. Even so, this B wasn’t merely a failure to me -just to my mom- but it was more of a point of realization. In my opinion, the class was hard, and the teacher was ignorant. As much as I tried to seek resources online, the NGSS curriculum was too hard to follow. Science has always been and always will be a very, very broad field of study, from natural sciences to numbers and calculations. But after the setback, I promised myself that I would try harder next year in Chemistry. I guess the overachiever “me” kicked in, and I started to self-study the basics through some free peer tutoring. I got a basic understanding of the zoomed-in version of physics.
Sophomore year came, and the peer tutoring helped! I was able to finish my Chemistry homework with ease. The setback awakened me--grade doesn’t define you. Teachers do say that, but I didn’t know they were right. I stopped focusing too much on school and started to get help from other peers that are in need. I later found out that I’m pretty good at teaching people! I enjoyed the process of planning and then teaching it; it felt liberating and pleasurable in its sense. It shaped who I am today!
The person today is stepping from the setback. I’m stronger with less dependent and fewer worries. The person today is always willing to help. The person today is stronger by looking at life through different lenses. This person is new!
