From Java Programs to Java Beans: What I Learned From AP Computer Science by Megan

From Java Programs to Java Beans: What I Learned From AP Computer Science by Megan - August 2016 Scholarship Essay

Picture this: lugging your overstuffed backpack through your front door, you step into your house and breathe a sigh of relief as another long day of school has finally met its bitter end. Letting your backpack slide to the floor, you make a beeline to the fridge for your daily after- school comfort snack, and you hear a familiar voice ask a question dreaded by high schoolers across the country in an upbeat tone of voice: “Hi honey! What did you learn in school today?”
If you’re anything like me, your answer would either be a spinoff of the phrase “not much,” or “you, know something in calculus” followed by a sigh of frustration from your parents. However, my answer to that question began to change from subpar to superior upon my junior year of high school with the class of AP Computer Science. What made this class stand out to me was not entirely the content of the subject itself, but the teacher, and the truths that I learned about myself through hard work and a personal lack of ability in the subject.
I suppose I should start by making this clear; throughout my education, I have never really had a problem with comprehension of a subject as everything came fairly naturally to my overly eager mind. In fact, the first class that I truly ran into trouble with was AP Computer Science, and I know that is why I learned so much, as although you can learn a lot form classes that are thoroughly enjoyed, classes that you do not excel in will teach you how to deal with and adapt to unfavorable situations . To elaborate on that thought, when I took Honors Physics my sophomore year, I loved the teacher, the class, and just everything, and truth be told, I did learn a lot. That being said, it doesn’t compare to when I took AP Computer Science, for although it intrigued me, I simply could not get into the “programming” frame of mind. This initially caused me to become extremely frustrated as I am not used to having to ask for help or even to ask questions. As the class went on, and the list of programs that I had not completed exceeded those that I had finished, my initial frustration turned to fear as my grade was steadily dropping which is death to an AP student. It was in one of those moments that I was checking PowerSchool that a thought occurred to me: ask for help.
Focusing the entirety of my energy to my feet, I willed myself to approach my teacher, and when I got there, after what felt like an eternity, I admitted that I was extremely lost in his class, and I needed some assistance. Believe it or not, my teacher actually rose to the occasion and patiently explained to me the solutions to the problems that I was having. It was as if after all of my years in school, I had just realized the purpose of a teacher: to teach! From this point on, when I had a problem, I asked my teacher, and he helped me to work through it. Of course that solution was an immense help, but I still had issues understanding programming and finishing projects in a timely manner. To combat my slow pace, I began to take my work home, and I would constantly review my notes late into the evening with some coffee to keep me awake. It was then that I appreciated what the majority of my fellow students had been doing for years: studying. I was lucky to have never had to exert so much effort in the past, but by finally doing so, my study habits began to improve and improve until I finally began to improve in terms of both my grade and my comprehension.
Although computer science is definitely my least favorite subject, learning to communicate with professors, to study every night of the week, and to take control of my own education certainly justified taking the class, and it has even swayed me to recommend it to my peers just for the life lessons that I learned. To reiterate, this class not only taught me how to program in Java but to succeed in classes that are not so easily understood.