You're Doing Great by Isabel

You're Doing Great by Isabel - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

For the first time, I decided to enroll in an advanced placement English course my eleventh grade year of high school. I wanted to challenge myself and my parents fully supported my decision. On the first day of the new school year, I walked into class immediately regretting my decision and doubting my abilities. I took a seat in the back of the room. Feeling as if I did not belong, I tried to avoid making eye contact with any of my classmates and even my new teacher. Eventually, my new teacher, Mr. Finch, introduced himself to the class then explained that he would be assigning seats. Surprisingly, I did not move to a new seat. Because Mr. Finch allowed me to keep my seat in the back of the room, I assume he noticed that I was trying to hide and did not want to make me feel uncomfortable.
Mr. Finch understood that I was nervous and did not want to worsen it. This impacted my first impression of my new teacher, the impression that he was understanding and willing to work with his students. As the semester progressed, I started to feel more comfortable and realized that enrolling in the class was not such a bad decision. Meeting new people and making new friends, I did not feel so out of place. Because I am a perfectionist, I did not think my work was the best, but I was one of the top students. I was always worried about the quality of my work and if I was even doing the work correctly. Almost 90% of the time, I was working on my assignments correctly.
“You’re doing great,” Mr. Finch would say when a student was feeling unsure of their abilities. Those three words would be something that would be said to me all year because I was always unsure of myself. The most important lesson he taught was that there was no issue with making mistakes. Trying and making a mistake was a lot better than not trying at all because there is no growth or learning involved. “You’re doing great,” is something I constantly repeat to myself when I think I am doing terrible. The phrase helps to keep me going and prevent me from giving up completely.