Mother Knows Best by Kifayat

Mother Knows Best by Kifayat - September 2015 Scholarship Essay

Being a high school student, I am always told to work strenuously and strive to be a better student. The explanation behind this is that in the world of education, the key to survival is to compete with others, and push oneself to great lengths in order to accomplish great obstacles. However, part of surviving in this world, is to learn things independently, outside of school or university.
When I was in my freshmen year of high school, I would often study in my room and try to focus on my work. One night, I was cramming for a test and I pressured myself to a point where I started crying, saying that I didn’t want to go to school anymore, and that I would fail. My mom heard me, came into my room and tried to calm me down. After explaining why I was crying, my mom calmly and steadily said, “You’re being inconsiderate and unfair to yourself”. She said this because when she was around my age (freshmen year; 13-14), she was arranged to get married. She said that she wasn’t able to go back to school because she was pushed into the family life. My mother didn’t regret having a family but she wished she was able to complete her studies. Complaining about my education would get me nowhere in life, and that breathing and pacing myself when it came to doing my work would help me be successful.
After that day, I never complained about schoolwork in front of my mother, and I continued to be an excelling student. I chose to be a better student because of my mother. She wasn’t able to live out her educational dreams, so I learned to be a better student, so that I could carry out her dreams for her.
Every single human being is born a learner, whether or not they choose to attend school. I’ve learned many things in school which I am grateful for, however I am more grateful about having the privilege and ability to learn outside of school, and become a better student by learning from my mistakes and the experiences of others.