Failure Makes You Stronger by Judith

Failure Makes You Stronger by Judith - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

I was always a believer that I was unstoppable. I believed that I would always succeed in anything I did, even if I did not apply myself as much. Tests were common sense and quizzes were even easier. I became overconfident in myself, thinking I knew everything. During my sophomore year of high school in 2011, my chemistry teacher shattered my egotistical thought process.

Believing former students that chemistry was not hard, I did not apply myself to the first few tests and quizzes. I passed the basic quizzes and tests with flying colors; however, the first chapter test was written in my tears. Instead of studying the night before, I watched Netflix and ate food in front of my television. I failed the test horribly. The test bumped my A in the class to a C. I grew worried. I decided to study and listen closely in class. I took notes, participated in class and even read the chapter twice. The second chapter test came around and my shaky hands completed the test. When I received my test score, my heart dropped. I failed again. I was no longer angry with myself but with my teacher. I thought about giving up and dropping to the lower level chemistry class. However, my adamant brain refused to relent to my siblings doubt and teasing.

After school that same day, I approached my chemistry teacher and asked for help. I was in tears and wanted to earn my A back. She agreed to help as long as I agreed to show up for tutoring. I showed up to tutoring every day, always asking questions and, by the time the next test rolled around, I was over prepared. Every lesson after that, I would seek her help if I did not understand the lesson.

I grew stronger the moment I tackled the goal of getting my A in chemistry class back. Failure hurt; it was unlike anything I had felt before. When chemistry shoved me back into the ground for the second time, I picked myself back up, dusted myself off and faced it head on. I grew stronger in my learning and took my academics more seriously. I failed to apply myself to the course and I paid for it. However, I acted to turn my ways around and that paid off even more. I realize that I learned nothing from my success if it came easily. True success comes from failure and hard work and I worked hard after my failure to succeed in getting my good grade back.