Studying isn't just through paper and pencil. by Max

Studying isn't just through paper and pencil. by Max - September 2026 Scholarship Essay

It's a common phrase that comparison is the thief of joy, but ponder on what comparison is actually taking? The joy that is taken from comparing yourself to things, and worrying about how good you are doing is the drive that you get to work towards something. Simply sitting down and taking "good enough" over the best you can possibly do is what stops people from getting that perfect score that they wanted, or even as much as just simply passing.

Each student works towards the same goal, passing; those who's ambitions and drive just aren't there are not students, rather people who haven't compared themselves to something which drives them to do better. Those who fail because they are lazy just lack the drive. I used to be one of those exact people. I didn't consider myself a student until I compared myself to other students, once I saw the difficult classes others were taking, and the good grades they were getting, I lost joy thinking about how I'm not like them. Each test that came, every assignment that was given, I still had that same laziness which followed throughout my time in high-school. That motivation that came from comparing myself to those who seem like it just comes to them, is the foundation of what is considered studying. Studying isn't simply sitting in front of a table with a textbook,paper, and pencil by your side pretending to get stuff done, it's WANTING to get stuff done. My success comes from wanting it, the motivation from comparing myself to those who are better than me, and aspiring to be someone who you'd compare yourself to is what makes stuff stick into my brain.

Once I thought of myself passing a test, I worked towards it. Anybody can sit in a classroom and let the lecture go in one ear and out the other, but it takes one to WANT it to pay attention. Discipline is the cornerstone of success, both academically and in the real world, it takes a certain amount of willpower to sit down and get stuff done, even if you have other things going on. After I dedicated myself to getting stuff done, I saw success academically, for the first time ever, I saw a report card which was made up almost entirely of A's.

Anybody can study, studying is such a broad term, which nobody really has a good example of what it is, reading a book in your free time is studying, completing your assignments is studying, jotting down notes is studying, but the strategy to studying, is wanting to. Comparison isn't the thief of joy, it's the bringer of clarity, it's meant to show you how great you could be. Without comparing myself to those students who were doing better academically, I would've never worked towards being like them, I would've never started studying, and I would've never seen the success that came from comparison.