Who Said It'll Be Easy? by Kaci

Who Said It'll Be Easy? by Kaci - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

While I was never a lazy student, school seemed to just come easy to me. I did not have to study for that big test, I was able to finish my homework in class, and still continue to make all good grades throughout the year. Classmates envied me and my parents believed I wasn't actually doing enough school work. I'll admit, the feeling of being smart went to my head and I started to feel utterly invincible, as if no amount of school work could even try to take me down.
And then I started high school.
Suddenly, school became a challenge and I could't just coast along. I quickly began to struggle with my homework and grades, drowning in all of the material that I had no chance of understanding. I was knocked off of my high horse before I could even blink and I unfortunately became a poor student. My self confidence dropped significantly as I began to believe that I wasn't smart enough to comprehend and learn the school work given to me. Failure became a common word in my vocabulary and I began to accept that I was no longer good at school.
When sophomore year of high school came around, I had pretty much given up on my grades. Little did I know, my entire world was soon to be flipped around by my math teacher, Mr. Terrell. As the year progressed, he seemed to see potential in me, that I couldn't even see in myself. He worked to push me beyond my limits and to better myself. However, despite his efforts, I was so bogged down by my insecurities that I still couldn't be successful.
After class one day, Mr. Terrell pulled me aside to talk. He told me how smart he knew I was and he wanted to know why I would not push myself to be better. I knew it was time to come clean, so I opened up about how school got hard for me and how I felt I wasn't smart enough.
He replied, "Who said it'll be easy? School is not a cake walk. It requires hard work and dedication to be successful. Nobody is born a genius."
Those words changes my entire high school experience. I realized that if I want to make good grades, I have to work for it. Nothing will be handed to me and just because something isn't easy, doesn't mean I should give up. I began to study outside of school and work hard to ensure that I made all A's so I can graduate with a 4.0. This advice translates to outside of school as well, because any career path I choose will require hard work on my part.
Because of my teacher's advice, I feel confident about the future and I'm ready to take on any challenge presented to me. It's not about how smart you are, it's about how hard you are willing to work to be successful. Just because something is not easy, does not mean it isn't worth the effort to succeed.