The value of Trying. by kennedy

The value of Trying. by kennedy - February 2026 Scholarship Essay

Growing up, I thought my life was unremarkable. As I matured, I realized I had missed valuable social opportunities. My childhood was marked by a lack of friendships, and even when I formed them, I struggled to maintain them, often letting them fade as the school year progressed.

This difficulty persisted in high school, despite my improvement from a C average to A/B grades. My peers increasingly asked for my academic help, which left me conflicted. Though I valued being reliable, I worried my identity depended solely on being the 'Smart Kid.' Any academic setback shook my self-worth, revealing the limitations of tying my identity to grades.

Motivated by this realization, I started to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I decided to try things I had never done before and branch out. When I failed on my first attempts, I convinced myself that I would never accomplish it, that I would waste my time trying to be good at something I would never succeed in. It was the same thing that had happened when I tried making friends. Once the good days of the friendship fizzled out, we would grow distant, and I wouldn’t bother reaching out, because what was the point? We fell out of contact for a reason. Why should I bother holding on? The irony of being an honor student and yet quitting after the first failure dawned on me.

Excelling academically gave me a sense of validation I had not experienced before, which led me to rely on good grades for self-worth. However, this reliance made me more cautious and fearful of failure, ultimately hindering my personal growth. Determined to change, I tried again. Although I was not as successful outside my comfort zone, I improved over time. Exploring new activities helped me discover my interests and motivated me to seek further experiences. This process reignited my enthusiasm for learning.

This small habit of stepping outside my comfort zone opened me to new and different possibilities. I learned that I can be more than what I expected of myself, that even in my ordinariness, I can still find something unique about myself that can set me apart from others. I want to continue trying new things, find a community, whether I foster it myself or not, and I want to grow, change, and experience what life has to offer.