Redesign and Rebuild by Jose
Joseof Kearney's entry into Varsity Tutor's July 2016 scholarship contest
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Redesign and Rebuild by Jose - July 2016 Scholarship Essay
It seems like yesterday that Melanie Chesley went from a regular teacher to a true inspirational icon from my perspective. People tend to search the internet for advice, a way for them to find some self confidence. For me, I was never the type of person that would rely on internet for motivation, let alone in real life. In a way, looking for motivation would have impacted my high school year in a positive way if I was more open minded. Everyday, I imagine myself having the ability to go back to high school and change everything. Part of that has to do with the life lesson given to me to my old English teacher, Melanie Chesley. To this day, the life lesson she told me has honestly been the only advice I have ever owned up to this very day.
Despite some students labeling me as an intelligent student, my grades would say another story. All four years of high school, I would never get good grades. Parent teacher conference would approach and every single time I would prepare to do the same procedure, listen to harsh lectures from my parents. I hit rock bottom at the conclusion of my freshman year when I was told by my homeroom teacher, in front of the entire classroom, that I was required to attend summer school. The thought of knowing most student would spend their summer vacation relaxing with friends and family made me disappointed and furious. After summer school concluded, I just lost motivation to amount to anything in high school and life. I accepted the fact that I would have the same fate as my family, work at a meat packing factory for the rest of my life. The assumption of my future would completely change during my sophomore year of high school.
The first day of sophomore year came by and I go to my first scheduled class, English. Automatically, I would hate the classroom since I was the only student that would not have a friend to talk to. The teacher for my English class was a well respected teacher in Lexington High School, Mrs. Melanie Chesley. My first impression of Melanie was that she was a very friendly teacher. One day after school, she pulled me aside into her classroom and acknowledged that I was arguably the most creative writer she has ever taught as a teacher. This caught me by surprise since no teacher has ever praised me in any way. She even took time out of her busy schedule to look at my history of grades and questioned why I was never committed to doing well in the past like I was in her English class. I admitted to her that I was under the though that I would never amount to anything, that it was too late to redeem myself to a good student due to my terrible past grades. At that moment, I was unable to hold back my tears and cried in front of a grown women. It was because of that moment of weakness that made me realized that there was someone outside my family that truly cared about my well being. On October 12th, 2012, Melanie Chesley told me seven inspiration words that have changed me life forever, “Never let your past determine your future.” She told me that she was in a similar situation like I was at a young age. Mealanie admitted she also was not the best student to exist, but when she owned up to those encouraging, seven words, she worked extremely hard and perused her dream of being an English teacher after so many years. Mrs. Chesley told me to never lose sight to her advice and apply it to my life so I turn myself into a phenomenal person, inside and outside of school.
On May 9th 2015, a day before I would graduate from high school, my past would come back to visit me. I had a graduation reception party at my house to celebrate a goal I never assumed I would never purse in my wildest dreams. I was humbled to have my family members and several friends attend to exciting event in my time. To my surprise, Mealanie Chesley decided to stop by my household as well. Like everyone else, she would congratulate me for coming this far in life by rewarding me with money. As most people began to leave my party, Mrs. Chesley decided to talk to me alone before she left as well. She told me that even though she is happy for me to graduate high school soon, she was also very disappointed. Melanie admitted she was sad to see me leave to college soon and was afraid I would never see her again. It came to a point where she broke down and cried on her knees, realizing I meant so much to her. I told her that avoiding her would be the last thing I would ever do and promised to show respect to her by owning up to her advice she game me the previous years. Melanie Chesley is more than just a teacher. She is the women that has changed my life in the best way possible. Thanks to her, I will do the best of my ability to always get goods grades and to never give up on myself.