Grades Don't Define Me by Nina

Grades Don't Define Me by Nina - August 2022 Scholarship Essay

I've always been one of the brightest students in any class I walk into. This isn't my ego talking, but rather a simple fact. I'm organized, study regularly, and turn my work in on time. Due to this fact, my peers looked to me for help and teachers never spent the same amount with me as they did with other students. However, despite my academic success, I was drowned by the constant anxiety I faced by the standards I had given myself. I was in love with learning as an elementary student and graduated high school hating almost every second of it.

As I'm entering college this year as a freshman, my most crucial academic goal is to simply fall back in love with learning. I want to go back to spending hours reading books and going through a Wikipedia tunnel after watching a documentary because I wanted to learn more about how the film was made and which details weren't in the film. In class this year, I will work hard, get help when I don't understand the material, and pat myself on the back no matter what grade I get. My grades don't equal my self-worth. I'm me and I matter just the same as when I get an F in a class as when I get an A.