New Year, New Chance for Academic Success by Richard

New Year, New Chance for Academic Success by Richard - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

Constant self-improvement is a concept that I believe in and follow closely. Nonetheless, now is one of the best times of the year to form goals for self-improvement. With my friends and family making New Years Resolutions, and spring semester right around the corner, there is no better time than the present to seize the golden opportunity of making a resolution that will make spring semester even better than fall semester!
Fall semester had went about as well as I had hoped it to be. I started off strong with an eager interest in my courses and the excitement that comes with the transition to college. I learned so many things and met so many people. Unfortunately, the night before my first back-to-back exams in economics and philosophy I found myself playing video games at a friend’s place rather than taking the time to review and study harder. I received lower grades than I could have achieved as a result.
About halfway through the semester I realized that I had improved my ping pong game more than I had improved my physics game. I had taken physics last year in high school and it was so boring. Ping pong, on the other hand, was just so new, active and competitive. I loved playing, and I took a lot of time to play and socialize. I knew this had to change, and I started forcing myself to study harder with friends. Because of this, my grades had a slight improvement, and my confidence had a large one! By the time finals came around I had honed my math, physics and memorization skills to a point where I was pleased with my progress, and I felt totally prepared for the last exams of my fall semester.
Overall I am happy with the outcome of my first few classes of my college career. One of my grades was lower than I had anticipated, but still satisfactory. However, I know that I can do even better this semester, especially with setting my priorities in stone. I am convinced that I can tackle spring semester head-on and triumph as much as, no, even more so than I did in the past fall! My New Year’s Resolution for 2016 is to put as much effort into my academic skills as I do in my social skills, if not more. I want to manage a healthy balance that will ultimately lead to a successful school year overall.
My plan of action has been formed and set in place ever since I figured out my schedule months ago. When signing up for classes, I already knew who my study buddies would be in most of my classes, which is great because I know for a fact that studying with friends has paid off in my grades and in my fun memories. With this New Year’s Resolution in place I am looking forward to a great beginning of 2016 and an outstanding finish for my first year of college!