Perseverance: The Key to Success by Nicholas

Perseverance: The Key to Success by Nicholas - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

“What have you learned from your reading?” A question most of my fifth-grade classmates thought was a walk in the park, but for me felt like a Herculean task. Despite knowing how to read books and stories, it was a challenge for me to grapple with what the words meant as a whole. My parents were not worried at first as they thought it would pass, but as time went on and improvement was not apparent, they began to search for an explanation. Consequently, I was sent to a specialist in hopes of uncovering a solution to my problem. Not long after that, I was informed that I had Reading Comprehension Disorder. Although this news made me fearful of what the future would bring, it brought me comfort when I was apprised by the specialist that this disorder could be overcome.
I had a long journey of sessions with my specialist ahead of me. When I was not at a session, I was doing exercises with my mother. Trying to surmount this obstacle became a major time commitment, but I knew I needed to push through to reach my full potential. After months of hard work and dedication, I overcame my disorder. Just months before, I was struggling to comprehend a short passage, but now I was able to comprehend a whole book. The question I once dreaded became a walk in the park for me too. Though my time working with a specialist had drawn to a close, I noticed improvements other than comprehension. I saw improved studying techniques and faster thinking. Without these skills, I would not have become the successful student I am today.
While studying techniques and quick thinking are great skills to have, working with my specialist left me with something even better, a lesson of perseverance. During my freshman year of high school, I dreaded the thought of finals. I never had to study a whole semester’s worth of information before, and I became overwhelmed. With finals week approaching, I began to flounder as I had a plethora of projects to create, assignments to complete, and content to study for final tests. I fell into a whirlpool of stress and completing these tasks was a headache. No matter how hard I tried, it felt like I was getting nowhere. I thought back to when I overcame my disorder and understood what I was missing. I was missing the key to unlocking the door to success, perseverance. Rather than giving up, I persevered. Keeping on top of deadlines and studying until it felt like my brain would explode was a hefty task, but I knew I had accomplished my goal. My final grades came back better than I could have imagined and knew my hard work had paid off.
As the saying goes, “everything happens for a reason.” In this case, I was meant to overcome my disorder to learn a valuable lesson in perseverance. Although the attempt to get past that hurdle brought along months of hard work, it gave me an understanding of perseverance and how it could help me not only in school but in life as a whole. Understanding my strength to push through tough times makes no obstacle seem insurmountable. I realize now that with perseverance, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.