Expanding Boundaries by Jewel

Expanding Boundaries by Jewel - April 2019 Scholarship Essay

Every year I spent at Michael T. Simmons Elementary School, I would watch the group of 5 or 6 kids that had the special privileges of going out into the pod to do their reading lesson. They were apart of the Bridges program that was meant for gifted students. All of my friends were in that group and I was always confused as to why I wasn’t smart enough to read Animal Farm or A Christmas Carol. Everyday I would watch through the classroom window that led into the pod where they got to be by themselves, laughing and working on their reading together. I felt as if I wasn’t good enough or that I would never be put in the smart group. I worked hard on my Accelerated Reader books and the tests I had to take, but it was never quite good enough. I pretended that I enjoyed reading books with my “average” class when my friends were at Bridges because I wanted to feel just as accomplished as they were. But I knew deep down where I wanted to be placed. I wanted to experience that sense of excellence that came from being ahead of the rest of my class, above the standard level.
In middle school, I was put into the Higher-Capability Language Arts and Social Studies block class. It wasn’t as concentrated as Bridges, because it was a whole class of students. But it was definitely a step in the direction that I aimed for. I had to put in all of my effort to stay afloat in the class. I had difficulty with concepts such as using consistent tenses in my essays or reading out loud in front of the class. I spent the whole year improving my writing, learning about the Medieval Period, memorizing poems, and more. By the end of the school year, I felt proficient and prepared to take on 8th grade. The next school year we weren’t in a block class anymore. Our reading and history classes were separate. I was automatically enrolled in the advanced language arts class, but I got to choose whether or not to be in the higher-level social studies class. Sticking to the same pattern, I chose to challenge myself in the advanced history class. It was a course that spent a majority of the year focusing on the history of the pioneers and their journey on the Oregon Trail. I enjoyed every minute of that class and absorbed the maximum amount of information that I could. We started discussing and writing about topics that we were passionate about and ideas that we could generate an opinion on.
When it was time to pick out our classes for high school, I was appalled at all of the options we had for each subject. I turned around in science and asked my friend if she was going to sign-up for Honors English. She answered me with a disgusted “no” because she didn’t want to put in the effort that it required. I remember feeling confused because she was one of my friends that was originally placed in the Bridges program in elementary school and she had been in my High-Cap classes in both 7th and 8th grade. I noticed that this became a pattern with my other friends who, in elementary school, were apart of the advanced reading groups. Now they were afraid of the work it might take to continue on that path. I didn’t let their lack of motivation discourage me. I signed up for Honors English both Freshman and Sophomore year. The roles had reversed and it was very intriguing that the students who were originally given a place in the advanced group didn’t value that opportunity and didn’t feel any desire to advance their skills.
When Junior and Senior year came around, I had the option to take Advanced Placement classes. These classes were extremely difficult and exerted much more effort than the Honors classes. These classes sharpened my ability to read and write exponentially and this has had countless benefits in my life as I continue my education as an undergraduate, pursuing my degree. My first semester at college I was enrolled in a Writing I class. As a result of the skills I had obtained from my high school english career, the gap between the challenging assignments and my abilities was minimized. Even though my friends were confused as to why I wanted to take Honors and AP classes, I would never have wanted anything less. The abundance of skills that I have gained from the extra time I spent is an extremely important part of my education journey and something that I will continue to use as I grow and embark on many other challenges. I was always so discouraged by the benchmark that I never passed as an elementary-schooler. I never knew the capability I had to succeed. I was faced with lack of opportunity and I overcame it with an ambition and determination that has gotten me farther than I could have imagined. I have developed a passion for challenging myself and striving to expand my academic abilities. Thank you for your consideration of my application.