Purpose and Persistence by Nicole

Purpose and Persistence by Nicole - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

Laziness, arrogance, and ignorance all encompass my generation. And we have all been victims of our own self-deception. Especially in school. We tell ourselves that we know the material, that we’ll probably be fine if we choose to watch a movie instead of studying, or that we can just copy off of someone who actually does the work assigned. It’s hard to assume responsibility and acknowledge that our grades come from the lack of effort asserted, but it is necessary.
My New Year’s resolution is to become more proactive and to engage more in my classes. Many times throughout one day I think of how I will never use a skill I am currently learning and wishing that I was anywhere but in a cold and restricting desk. I hope to change that. I want to begin seeing the value in every minimal detail provided by my teacher and think about how I can apply it in the coming years.
I used to hate science and dread that long and dragged-out hour each day. I used to see the open door, trying to appear warm and inviting, but know that inside lay a loathsome lab table with my name on it. Recently, though, I discovered that if I acted interested in the lesson, I actually became more interested. So I have decided to try this with every class.
Even though calculus tries my patience and can cause me to erupt with anger, if I lean forward in my desk and attempt to do the problems before allowing myself to feel defeated, I am able to retain more information. It seems slightly ridiculous, and I’m not sure when I’m ever going to integrate something or need to find the derivative of an equation, but I have started looking at math from a different angle. Instead of debating in my head whether or not to skip my math period and go home, I can walk straight into the classroom and not have the urge to turn around and walk right back out.
For my 2016 resolution, I want to try and become more interested in each subject, and stop procrastinating simply because I don’t like the subject itself. I want to learn more than the minimum and know that everything I am taught might not be essential to my life, but that it could be helpful and useful later on.