Class Clown to Class Act by Kedan

Class Clown to Class Act by Kedan - April 2019 Scholarship Essay

My parents have often spoken about how excited I was on the first day of Kindergarten. I loved going to school and learning with my friends, and drawing pictures to impress my favorite teacher, Miss McDonald. School was a special place for me and when I was at home, I often counted down the hours until I could return to the classroom, and to my friends. This love of school continued all throughout elementary and middle school, and my friendships continued to thrive.
In 9th grade, I started at a new school, one that was far away from the school I had previously attended, and the school to which my friends would all be going. All of the sudden I was on my own. I was in a new place, I had no friends and there were ten times as many students in my new school. I went from being a big fish in a small pond, to being a small fish in a big pond – I was miserable.
Being that I did not have any friends, I was extremely unhappy and that was reflected in the effort I put into my schoolwork. I started slacking and stopped paying attention in class because I was too busy looking at the clock waiting for school to be over. I was in a funk, my academics were suffering and I did not know how to make it stop. Kids in class slowly began to talk to me as I took on a reputation of a slacker, and eventually a class clown. I effectively trapped myself in my own reputation, and I did not want to sacrifice what little joy I had found just to improve my grades. I did not see the point in focusing on my schoolwork when I was unsure of whether or not I even wanted to attend college.
One Sunday at church, the pastor was talking about Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says, “Whatever the activity in which you engage, do it with all your ability, because there is no work, no planning, no learning and no wisdom in the next world where you’re going”. This resonated with me because I had not been doing my best in all of my activities, and I knew that I was created for bigger things than I could ever achieve at the rate I was going.
I emailed all of my teachers and begged them to give me the chance to salvage my grades by completing the work I missed, in addition to extra work to prove I was serious. I walked into class the next Monday with pages upon pages of completed work and I was proud of myself for turning my grades around. I met with the golf coach and asked him to let me try out for the team, even though the season had already started. I told him I wanted to join the golf team to find friends who appreciated me for my talent and my true personality, not for my jokes and bad attitude. He graciously agreed and I quickly found a better group of friends, ones who I still see regularly and who I cannot imagine doing life without.
Looking back, I think I never really enjoyed being known as the slacker and I never found those friendships particularly fulfilling. I’m thankful for a well-timed sermon, and for supportive teachers and coaches who took me at my word when I said I wanted to do better, and who allowed me the opportunity to prove myself.