Capable in The Midst of Challenges by Megan

Capable in The Midst of Challenges by Megan - December 2014 Scholarship Essay

Education has been one of the main building blocks for who I am today. It has taught me to view myself as capable in the midst of challenges. In first grade I was diagnosed with significant visual and auditory processing delays, more commonly known as dyslexia. I had to work hard and overcome more challenges in education than in any other part of my life. With this learning disability, academically I felt as if I had been set up for failure from the beginning. What was easy for my classmates, seemed to take me double the amount of time to complete the task with a below average grade in return. Putting in extended amounts of time and still not feeling proud of what I had done was tiresome. Instead of giving up, I strove to be successful. Without ease, I applied the skills that I had learned in years of therapy to my schoolwork, eventually leveling the playing field with my peers.

Even more valuable than the content in the classroom were the concepts behind the lessons. Endurance, perseverance and grit are what I learned from simple homework assignments. The lessons I’ve learned from persevering through my academics are priceless and far outweigh the challenges that I had to overcome. I would not trade them for an easier experience. I learned to use my weaknesses as my strengths. From all of this I learned that school or reaching any goal is not about how smart you are it is about how hard you work. I use the habits I formed from overcoming academic challenges on a daily basis to be successful. Education has made me who I am today.