Perserverance by Melissa

Perserverance by Melissa - October 2019 Scholarship Essay

My mentor from the Youth Leadership Institute through the Hispanic Scholarship Fund inspired me immensely. She is currently a sophomore at the University of Michigan: Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, she lived through a tough childhood; her mother joined a religious cult, her stepfather left them, her step-siblings separated from her. Yet, amongst all this personal turmoil, she maintained her academic performance to a higher level. She took AP and IB classes and preserved a high GPA. She scored 1500 on the SAT and graduated from her high school as an IB graduate. Now, as a college student, she continues to perform strongly in academics despite struggling with an acute stress disorder from her past experiences.
When she revealed her challenges to my group in the Youth Leadership Institute, I was amazed and inspired by how she continued to be successful despite living through challenges in which many would succumb to. She opened my eyes to an image of true perseverance and grit, one that pertains to a few people.
I have a good life. My parents are together, we spend time together, and I have friends in high school. However, now that I face immense stress and pressure to go to college and succeed, I feel my mind slipping. I cry myself to sleep, immobile out of the sheer anxiety for my future coursing through my veins. I stare at the wall. Blankly. Empty. Numb. I feel too tired to move or think. I walk through the school, suddenly feeling a sense of dread, knowing I only have a couple of months until I turn in college applications. With these symptoms arising from the stress, sleep deprivation, and anxiety that come as a consequence of senior year, I feel unmotivated, my grades starting to slip.
I talk with my mentor, knowing she has been in a similar situation as me. Filled to the brim with stress. Perhaps the cause of the stress was different, but the effects were the same.
She understands me, motivates me to keep pushing through my ailments. I remind myself, ‘yes, I do have a good life, but I still face my challenges.’ I look at her achievements in school. I try to follow her footsteps; make her proud. I pull up my grades, a 4.78 GPA. I take 5 AP classes, balancing them all with my extracurriculars. I follow her advice: relax, focus on the present, stay organized. Thanks to her, I stay on track and persevere.