Excellence: a Revolutionary Idea by Kiva

Excellence: a Revolutionary Idea by Kiva - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration. There are parties and champagne (or sparkling apple cider for the underage) and New Year’s resolutions. It is a time when we indulge in nostalgia over the last year, while simultaneously savoring the untouched potential of the upcoming. It is a night that feels almost magical, like anything could happen. Yet how can you celebrate the future when someone you love is in danger of losing hers?

December 31, 2015. 11:30 pm.
It’s almost 2016; I should be celebrating. I don’t feel like celebrating. Right now all I can do is watch the clock and pretend to read as I wait for my dad to get home from the hospital. This morning my mom was taken to the ER on account of severe stomach pains, and had to be rushed into emergency surgery after they discovered that her bowels had gotten twisted around themselves, preventing any waste from passing through her system.
I’m scared. No, that’s a lie. I’m terrified. If the surgery doesn’t go well, she could die. I don’t want to lose my mom.
I’m not the only one who is scared, though. My dad came home for a few minutes while my mom was in surgery to grab some food and a shower before heading back to the hospital. Dads are supposed strong, unafraid, and calm in the midst of a storm. My dad usually is, but not today. Today I saw fear in his eyes as he rushed around the house, giving instructions and trying to make sure everything was taken care of. Seeing him like that, frantic and uncomposed, scared me almost more than my mom being in the hospital.
As the night wore on and I went through the motions, eating, cleaning, taking care of our dogs, a thought occurred to me: This is where you show them what you can do…
As scared as I was, I knew that my dad needed me to be strong and to help in whatever way possible. I needed to be responsible and reliable for him. I needed to be the kind of person that can be counted on to do what needs doing.

My mom got out of surgery late that evening, though she had to stay in the hospital for several days. The New Year passed without much acknowledgement from me. But something kept coming back to me. I’m not one for New Year’s Resolutions- they never seem to last- but that thought I had stuck with me: This is where I show them what I can do… And I wondered, what would happen if I approached every situation with the same mindset: not to show off or boast, but to put my best effort into whatever I do, to always strive for excellence. What could I accomplish then? I can say that when I really want something, I go after it with everything I have, but when something needs doing that I don’t particularly care about or want to do? I may only do enough to satisfy. I want to do more; I want to be the kind of person who goes above and beyond the call of duty.
2016: The year I discover, reach, and surpass my full potential.