Nothing in Life is Free, but Anything is Possible by Lindsay

Nothing in Life is Free, but Anything is Possible by Lindsay - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything”. This inspiring quote comes from Napoleon Hill, an American author from the 20th century, and it couldn’t ring more true to me. Great achievements can never simply fall into your lap ready for you to claim them as your own. My achievements in my academic studies, as well as my achievements in any aspect of my life, have never come easily; they have required effort, time, and, most of all, desire.

I feel that above all my greatest academic achievement has been climbing the class rank and reaching the top 5% of my graduating class. Being in all honors classes, along with working a part-time job, volunteering at my dance studio, taking dance classes, and refining my skills with various musical instruments, kept my metaphorical plate full of commitments and different goals to reach. In order to reach the top 5% I had to always make time to study, to complete homework, and to try to comprehend material that occasionally seemed next to impossible. Reaching the rank, which I still lie in, has opened different opportunities for me, as well as awarded me for all of my hard work.

When I was accepted into my top school, Hofstra University, the daunting $55,000 cost scared me into believing I may not be able to attend. Soon after my acceptance letter came my merit scholarship, which is based solely on academic achievements. I opened that letter not expecting what was hiding inside; a Presidential scholarship of $23,000. Nearly paying half of my cost of attendance, this scholarship made my heart burst with joy as I realized I would be able to study at my dream school. In addition to this scholarship, I’ve been accepted into the Honors University, a community of highly motivated students and faculty whose sole purpose is to help one another succeed in their pursuits. None of this would have been possible if I hadn’t worked so hard throughout my high school career, and it has all been worth it in the end.

In short, my desire to want better things in my future has fueled my success and I was able to reach the top 5% of my graduating class. With that came an enormous scholarship of $23,000 and acceptance into Hofstra University’s Honors College. I hope that I can be seen as an example that in the end hard work and effort truly pays off. The only way to ever achieve anything is to have the desire to want more for you. Whether you want to achieve something academically or in any other aspect of your life, you have to be willing to work for it, because nothing in life is free, but anything is possible.