The Scoring of Success by Kyle

The Scoring of Success by Kyle - February 2021 Scholarship Essay

The entire reason for the existence of schools is to provide people with a place to learn. Thus is my measure of success: how much I learn. I intend to go to college in order to study creative writing; I believe that, if I can learn the different methods by which others conduct their writing, I should be able to improve my own. In this way, I would succeed, by my own measure. My belief is that success is measured by how well I learn in the pursuit of my goals; that learning is hampered by grades; and that the point of success is improvement, best done through constant learning.
My hope is that, in college, I can focus more upon what I actually want, not merely performing the tasks forced upon me with little choice onto which. With this potential freedom, I hope to be able to learn to the best of my abilities, fully applying myself to the task of dissecting the intricacies of a writer’s voice. In time, perhaps this may lead me to properly develop my own style, one suited to what I desire; that would be the ultimate success, with every little shift forward another success leading to it. Thus, I would be able to learn, to the best of my ability, how to write in the manner of which I desire. This would bring me to one of my goals, of being an author, known for interesting and creative stories. In my opinion, goals are not the measures of success, merely the plot points of life.
Grades, meanwhile, are merely a variable by which completion and memorization are measured, not a gauge for success. If anything, to some, the concept of grades detracts from the learning experience, forcing one to view learning not as something to enjoy, but as something to perform; in essence, turning the acquisition of knowledge into yet more work. This lessening of learning thus lessens one’s success as the individual will suffer under the ire of society, even when trying to perform to the standards. Without grades, perhaps students would genuinely improve -- growing, learning, and thus succeeding far more than with them. There is certainly an undeniable correlation between the increasing of heavily stressed students and the ever-growing importance of grades, necessary for entering a good college, which itself is necessary for getting a good job. This piling on of constant stress leads most things learned to be forgotten.
Humanity focuses upon success, desiring it most of all, for it is our way of measuring our own greatness. In my mind, greatness is not the purpose of success; improvement is. As one learns and grows, one succeeds more and more, as they improve themselves from minor players to major roles. For example, one may look at playing an instrument. Accomplishment is quantified by the skill of playing, as one learns and thus improves on their previous work. By this pace of growth, one can measure their success, as they refine their past errors and play ever more beautifully.
The entirety of human existence has been constant improvement; even when we falter, we rise once more, growing culturally, socially, and technologically with every passing day. The measuring of success has thus been the focus of every person, as they strive to quantify themselves in a world where success is the most highly valued variable. However, one should not score their accomplishment by each achievement, but instead by the improvement which brought such achievements into existence.