Geography Take Two by Kristen

Geography Take Two by Kristen - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

Academic failure was not something I was used to. Sure, every now and then I would fail a math test but that was math; everyone had trouble with math. I had maintained all As except for that B in math and spelling since first grade. I was the nerd kid. All I had was my smarts. I was sick a lot as a child so the other children never really had time to become my friends and I always had work to make up so I had to excel academically to keep up. I always thought I would speed through school, no problems, and go straight to college. Would not have to worry about a thing.

Then, middle school happened. Oh, the lovely time in every person’s life. It’s awkward, the work piles on, and you have six or seven teachers to deal with instead of just one. Best years of your life right? They were about as great as a ham sandwich in the middle of a seventh inning stretch. Which means that were not spectacular and were actually pretty awful. I did learn a lot so it was not a total lost.

The focus of this story goes to my eighth grade year. The best year of middle school because you are the top dog. However, it provided the most challenge because at that point everyone's’ ego is so high they think they are above the work. That is exactly what happened to me in Geography class. I did not really like my teacher and how she ran the class. I could not stand the assignments and reviews for test so I simply stopped doing things. I thought I was smart enough to cram before test and succeed and the test scores would make up for missed homework. I was very wrong. The last quarter of the class I failed. If it was not for my teacher being a gracious lady and giving me point for effort I would not have come out with a C in that class overall. I did not deserve the points but I was very grateful for them.

Never did I think I would fail a class. Even failing just a quarter was enough to scare me straight. I had it set in my mind that I was going to go to college with plenty of scholarships; but how could I get those with this awful grade? I had to spend my next four years doing everything possible to make up for it. It was not until I changed schools for my high school education that I realized fixing my mistake was pretty easy. I went to a private middle school. That year the curriculum had been changed so the school could offer AP classes. This meant my Geography class was a ninth grade class at my new school. I had the opportunity to retake the class and remove the bad grade from my record. I was so excited to replace the grade but nervous. I did not know how this new teacher taught and if I would do any better this time around. History had never been a favorite class and it was a struggle to pay attention.

That Geography class my freshman year had to be one of the best things to happen to me. My teacher was fantastic. One of the best teachers and men I have ever come to meet. I had a new found joy for history and his class became the highlight to my school career. I ended up with an A in Geography and a new look on my schooling. I could not repeat what happened in eighth grade. I had been given one chance to correct and learn. Since that year I have changed how I handle all my classes. I take good notes, study at least two days before a test or quiz, and if there is ever a moment of procrastination I work ten times harder to make up for it. As of the end of my Junior year I am in the top five of my class and intend to try for top three this year. I never would have made it here in my academic career without the one hit to my ego. I had to see what I could lose before I could take the steps needed to win. It was a stressful time for me but it was one of the best things to ever happen to me academically.