In My Element by Nicole

In My Element by Nicole - August 2016 Scholarship Essay

Throughout my high school career, I have always valued academic prestige and taken classes that will challenge me. In my junior year, I took one of the hardest classes a high schooler can take: AP Chemistry. Despite all the warnings I read about the class online and the plight of panicked students from the last year who regretted their decision in taking it, I decided to put myself through the course anyway. Science has been my favorite subject since middle school, and I thoroughly enjoyed chemistry my sophomore year, so I figured, why not! I wasn’t going to let the workload affect my passion for learning.
Looking back now after completing the class with an A average, I am so glad I decided to enroll in AP Chemistry. Many times I was quite overwhelmed, but I learned so much more than just weak acid/base equilibrium and molecular geometry. Such a stressful, high-level course taught me many lessons about myself and what college would be like. For example, I learned that I AM capable of staying up until midnight studying, and I may in fact be doing this quite often in college. More importantly, I got a taste of what the collegiate atmosphere will be like: intense, focused, but fun at times. As the year wore on, I became more astute at visualizing life from the perspective of an atom, which made understanding so much easier for a test than just memorizing random facts. I spent more time studying, and less time making my notes “pretty” or worrying about what grade I might get. Essentially, I became more time-efficient and focused because of the rigor and intensity of the class.
Not only was I fortunate enough to be in such a rewarding class, but I also got the opportunity to work and think with an experienced professor and curious students with similar interests as me. While normally I am pretty independent and prefer to work alone, I soon found that in AP Chemistry, I desperately needed the teamwork and support associated with doing labs and understanding concepts. My classmates were able to show me new perspectives and ways of understanding the subject matter. For the first time, I was not afraid to come to school early for extra assistance because my teacher was always eager to help me whenever I was struggling. I built strong friendships and relationships that I will keep through the next school year and hopefully through college as well.
AP Chemistry taught me more than any other class ever has. It gave me insightful college experience, challenged me to question the universe, and built lifelong friendships. Such riveting yet hard material has encouraged me to pursue science in college and my future career. Now that I have taken the class, I am not afraid to take any course: I will heartily accept the challenge.