Resilience Over Pride by Olivia

Resilience Over Pride by Olivia - May 2015 Scholarship Essay

Rigorous academics became a new truth to me during my freshman year of college. I assumed I would be the exception to the stories of incoming college students who are shocked by the expectations of the professors. Quite quickly I discovered that I would not be an exception, and, like my peers, I would need to find a way to adjust to these new expectations. No longer were my educators willing to throw me a bread crumb trail leading to the final paper, project, or presentation. Rather, I was handed the syllabus during my class on the first day and thrown into the wind. It was an unhinging feeling to see all of the work I was to accomplish during a few short months, but determined, I set out to have a successful first year.

While my first two years of college have been successful, it was not without the aid and comfort of my peers. The most important lesson taught to me by peers was resilience. An essential academic skill that I tried to hide under the rug. So desperate to be the exception, I would work myself to the edge trying to give one hundred and ten percent to all assignments. My peers would laugh at this, as we realized that the rigorous academics we heard of were true. As we walked through the first two years of our undergraduate studies together, my peers taught me to be resilient to the all-nighter, forgotten quiz, and poor grade. My freshman year, first semester humanities professor shared, during our first class, his unfortunate task of providing the new students with their first lesson on resilience. After our first exam in his class, we understood what he had meant. Academics, especially in college, require resilience. Poor test grades, forgotten quizzes, and choppy presentations are not as life-threatening as they often feel. My peers taught me to push past the disappointment and the hurt pride. Growth requires us to overcome obstacles and receive constructive criticism. I have been taught to look past my stinging pride when I see a paper covered in red ink. With encouragement from those around me, I see an opportunity to refresh my writing style. A poor test grade is a chance to learn the better time management skills I continuously grasp for.

I regret mistaking resilience for weakness. Accepting constructive criticism and moving past a failed quiz is not the act of losing my pride as a student. Resilience shows good character in academics and willingness to grow.