"Summertime Lockdown" by Raven

"Summertime Lockdown" by Raven - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

I learned my education is a privilege, just like summer is. The unfortunate thing is, I chose to learn it the hard way. I used my medical situation and the death of a friend as an excuse to why I allowed myself to go astray academically. Over the summer before my senior year, I was sentenced to five weeks of "academic repair" otherwise known as summer school. It was a choice that I would not have made for myself. This genuinely opened not only my eyes but a sectional of my brain that was closed off. This experience taught me to be more appreciative of the classes and courses that I take.

During my sophomore year at Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California, I messed up in school drastically for the first time. I was appalled at myself due to the fact that I received a "D" in world history. I have always been successful in history being as though in my opinion, it is an easy course. That same semester I contracted pink eye and an infection just weeks from each other. I missed a total of two weeks from school during the semester's time span. I was oblivious to the impact that it would have. I behind ten days in class work, homework, as well as extra curricular activities. It was then and there I realized I was not as capable of balancing multiple activities at one time. To add on to what I believed was already a brick wall, that December a friend of mine passed away from heart failure. In all honesty it was too much to keep up with and too hard to cope with at the time. I held on to the anger, sorrow, and self disappointment for longer than I should have. Each decision a person makes has a domino effect. My choices carried into my second semester and the outcome was not positive. Again like before I received another "D" in the same class.

I applied to summer school, unaware that current juniors and seniors would have first priority. After that I did not really think too much of it until my mother and counselor continuously and regularly grilled me about what I was going to do to make up for the grade. Surprisingly my counselor had a large impact on me. She brought me summer school applications until I fully completed them. The next step for me was to go. I still was not motivated to go considering that the teacher I originally received the failing grade from, was teaching the summer school course. When I passed my first few tests in the class, that all changed. I did not mind waking up early to get another "A". Each passing grade I got reminded me of the studious student I once was. It was a reminder that I was worth the hard work, effort, patience, and time. Summer school recreated a person that I once was very close with.
Since last summer I have been working hard. As always life throws curveballs that I do not always hit. But that has not stopped me from giving my best in school. My grades are not sharp or where I would prefer them to be, but they are better than my sophomore year grades. My goal is to succeed. I determine my success and the direction of my future. I passed the summer course with an "A", which was one of the best feelings I can remember. All I have to keep in mind is that I am capable of anything if I try, and that knowledge is power only if it is applied.

Knowledge is a beautiful thing when one takes the time to step back and admire it while submerging themselves in it. I prospered through self doubt, disappointment, and pain. Summer school just happened to be apart of the process that taught me to make wise decisions. Summer can turn into one of the worst things if a person does not use their academic year properly. I did not learn that until I was able to bump my head and make my own mistakes. Everything that happens now, carries through to later.