The path I took to find myself by Marie

The path I took to find myself by Marie - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree it will live it’s whole life believing it is stupid”, quoted by Albert Einstein. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses in different areas. If somebody criticizes you in your weakest area, it will make you feel inadequate. Those criticisms will either lead you to failure or success. People have criticized me in regards to my speech and stuttering problems, and lack of family support.
As a little girl, I always had a problem with my speech. I hardly talked when I was younger because I would stutter every time and people would laugh at me. People would always comment “You talk so fast, I don't understand what you’re saying”, so I started talking slower so people could understand me better. However, my confidence increased with age. Now, everybody that knew me when I was little are surprised that I can keep a conversation now, which makes me proud.
They say family is supposed to motivate you to do bigger and better things, not in my case. My parents would bring me down, saying “you are slow, you will never make it.” By the end of my sophomore year, I learned that family will not always support you and sometimes will bring you down. I was determined to prove them wrong. I would show them that I'm smart and I would get somewhere in life. Lack of support should not stop you from pursuing your goal; it should motivate you to do better.
Throughout my high school year I wanted to go to Florida Southwestern, because it was cheaper, but I felt I was settling instead of exploring my options. Then I thought about Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. I thought about the distance from home and how would it be hard to get in contact with my family when I have an emergency. I learned that the future is in my hand, if I want to achieve my goals I need to take risks. One thing I need to improve on is to be involved in activities that will look good on my scholarships and college applications. My action plan to improve would be to research on programs that deals with medical or psychology.
I, Marie Romulus overcame difficult situations in my life. I came out of this small world I was living in and started to explore new adventures took challenges that I never thought to believe I would. Up until this day, I still have obstacles that comes throughout my journey. I know with the determination I have, and will not let those obstacles defeat me. I have improved on my speech tremendously now I am not nervous to speak into a large crowd. The doubts of my parents will not discourage me to reach my dreams, because someone once told me “If you let what others tell you stop you from doing what you want, then you were never going for your dreams, instead you were going for their dreams.”