Growth: The Greatest Accomplishment by Jenna

Growth: The Greatest Accomplishment by Jenna - February 2021 Scholarship Essay

As I have grown along my path of life, my perception of success has greatly shifted. Being a student, my goal has been to strive for perfection in my studies; being an athlete, my goal has been to strive to help my team achieve victory; being a member of the community, my goal has been to serve others to the best of my ability; and being a friend, daughter, and sister, my goals have been to be selfless and kind. Until sophomore year of high school, my identity was driven by the achievement of these goals. I had always worked hard in the classroom and in my extracurriculars but prior to my injury, success in these areas came fairly easily. On paper, I was the ideal student, but getting a concussion amplified the challenging nature of my schoolwork and everyday life. My concussion stripped me of my ability to perform everyday activities and be the person I worked so hard to be. Staring at my failing report card, certain I had been deemed a failure, I was forced to reevaluate my definition of success.

Without this experience, I may have answered that good grades and a professional degree would satisfy my desires for accomplishment, and while these are still important aspects of my life, they are not the dominating factors in my self-worth. The past two years have been filled with self reflection as I work towards a mindset where I define success not as what I have done, but rather how it has been done. Success should be a measurement of growth.

Maintaining a perfect grade-point average is impressive, but it is even more so when a student like myself was able to climb up from an academic pit to the peak of achievement. The most rewarding feelings of accomplishment that I have experienced have often been after a period of constant hard work and perseverance. As I embark on my post-high school journey, I know that college will present a plethora of novel challenges that I must strive to overcome in the pursuit of a higher education. During this season of my life, I expect to learn equally as much about being an individual as I will in my academics. Receiving these undergraduate and graduate diplomas will not only mark my success in the classroom, they will be a symbol of my progression.