Winning Resolution by Lauren

Winning Resolution by Lauren - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

At the end of every year, it’s tradition to make a “New Year’s Resolution”. For those not knowing what exactly a New Year’s Resolution is, it is a tradition in which an individual promises him/herself to make an act to better themselves, or to make polite improvements in their lives beginning on New Year’s Day (January 1st). Students such as myself, who are serious about their school work, wonder what we could do to become an even better student. Therefore, cutting out my worst distractions would be a great New Year’s Resolution to help myself become a better student in 2016.
Distractions are the reason most students can’t seem to focus and learn the material. I have struggled with that myself since I was in Junior High. It honestly makes the student feel insecure about themselves when they can see other students getting every answer right, while they don’t have any idea what the answer could be. Not knowing doesn’t necessarily mean that the student is not smart. Most of the time, it just means that they’ve been distracted by thoughts, phones, notes, etc. Therefore, the student could be very smart. If that he/she were to try extra hard to cut out their worst distraction, they would definitely improve in their work as a student.
Personally, my worst distraction is all the thoughts going through my head. I’m constantly thinking about off-topic subjects, such as my appearance, or what I’m going to do after school. This causes me to not hear what’s being taught, and I fall behind on the lesson. However, I also catch myself doing this and try my best to stop and get back on subject. It bothers me so much to know that I’m not learning what everyone else is learning. I don’t like being behind on things at all, because I strive to have excellent grades and a great knowledge of what I was taught before I leave for college. For one year, if I were to constantly work on this as a New Year’s Resolution, I could greatly improve my grades and work ethic. I’ve realized over the years that catching myself slipping more and more causes me to pay attention more, which leads to better grades on my assignments and a better knowledge as a student.
My second worst distraction to cut out would be the use of my cell phone in the classroom. I’ve found that many other students have this problem as well, and it causes lots of distraction and less learning. This is why we aren’t supposed to use our devices in the first place. However, I use my phone in secret when I think of something I forgot to tell my mother or if I’m having a more serious conversation with a friend who isn’t with me. I try not to use my phone much in class, but it would still help if I completely gave it up while working. I wouldn’t be dealing with anything other than what I was supposed to be doing, which would be very helpful with my GPA and grades. I’ve also realized that I feel slightly better after class when some of my teachers collect our phones; it makes me feel like I accomplished something and learned more. I makes me feel more collected with myself. Feeling collected and together is definitely a good feeling and would be an excellent help for becoming a better student.
As I’ve mentioned, cutting out my worst troublesome distractions would be the perfect New Year’s resolution to become a better student in 2016. The main reason many students aren’t already “outstanding” students is because of their inability to keep their focus. This is my problem that I’ve been working on for a while now, and have gotten much better about. I pay attention more than I used to, so I know that constantly working on something really does make a change. A good change. This is why making a New Year’s Resolution would be even better; it’s a promise to yourself that you’ll keep up with all year, which will most definitely end with great results. Therefore, if I were to keep up with this winning resolution throughout 2016, there is no doubt that I will focus more, gain more knowledge, and become an all-around better student.