The Bane of Studying by Rashaun

The Bane of Studying by Rashaun - July 2023 Scholarship Essay

If I had to put a pin in what my single most defining flaw, my biggest failure in my education would be, it would be the failure to develop the study skills in my life that would lead to success. When I was much younger, I was told that I was bright. I was quite observant, and picked up on things fast, and so because of that, I very rarely needed to put much effort into things such as studying or homework. This was really the case all the way until 6th grade where things took a turn for the worse.
In 6th grade, and through high school, the work started to get harder, the tests more confusing and the subject material more and more complicated. Even though I would eventually be able to pick up the subject material when I really needed to, I really coasted byon the fact that I could learn the material at the last possible second, and pass by with a C. I got into the habit of just learning the bare minimum, passing by with just the average, when in reality, I would be able to do so much more if I had chosen to learn the study skills that would let me excel as my mother has declared I was so capable of doing.
This major flaw has really shaped how I have had to go about things in my life. Because of the fact that I still (to some extent) don't have these study skills, I have had to go about ways in order to achieve the same result. For example, rather than just studying for the sake of studying, I would incentivize myself for studying with things such as games, or add a more enjoyable aspect to the studying that would lead to me actually wanting to study. These things made it so that I was using my brain to learn the material at the rate that I knew I was capable of doing, while also making it so I could keep myself focused on it for enough time to actually understand it. This has also leaked into other aspects of my life, in which I have found ways to make it so my brain is able to do mundane, or just unwanted activities while still focusing and doing them the correct way.
I can say that for sure, this mistake was one hundred percent a hinderance on my high school career. It made just about everything that I did harder, and it put pressure on myself that could have been allieviated. However, choosing to grow from this mistake and turn it into a way that I can improve myself has not only lead to me growing as a person, but leaving open room for more growth.