The Rocky Climb by Riyadhul

The Rocky Climb by Riyadhul - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

Directly before college, my ego couldn’t possibly have climbed any higher or it would’ve been sent through the Earth’s stratosphere. In high school, I represented the ideal student that college recruiters would have loved to snatch up and claim as their own. I was a member of my high school’s National Honor Society, in addition to maintaining a high GPA and being a piece in several clubs. Naturally, I felt that my success in high school would seamlessly translate over to college while simultaneously holding on to a respectable social life. These aspirations did not fulfill exactly how I had planned.
During my first semester of college, I completely let myself go. Much like an individual who slowly but steadily gains weight without realizing it until they fall under the obese category, I was engulfed in the same complication, but academically. I neglected many assignments and ignored piles of homework that were vital to passing. Unfortunately, these blank and unanswered practice questions remained empty. I felt that I would still manage to get by with minimal effort when in reality, I gave no effort at all. I found it more important, at the time, to focus on my social life, attending parties and generally hanging out while leaving my studies at bay. While maintaining a healthy relationship with peers is necessary to a college experience, it cannot come at the expense of academics. However, I did not see the importance of this at the time. Suddenly, my ego that had grew over the years had sharply deflated. I completed my semester with an abysmal GPA that truly made me reevaluate what exactly I had done and what I must do to prevent and overcome this obstacle in the future. The consequences however, were dire. I was placed on academic probation and put into a program to attempt to improve my GPA. I felt ashamed in myself because an AP student such as I knew that it should not have had come to this. Over the course of the winter break and heading into the spring semester, I made an abundance of changes that vastly improved my academic standing.
During the break for the winter, I took a much greater look at what exactly it was that I wanted from the upcoming semester. I quickly learned that I lacked substantial motivation that should’ve driven me to succeed in the previous semester. In addition to this, I was surrounded by numerous distractions that could have easily been cut down. With this knowledge, I was much more prepared this time around. I kept a planner, and tracked every assignment I needed to do. When the time was right to complete the assignment, I did just that and made sure to have ample time in case revision was necessary. I found it important to finalize all academic aspects of my college experience before moving on to more social elements. I learned to manage my time and I also learned to be humble. I knew that I was doing better at this point, however I made sure that I would not allow it to get to my head again and repeat the same mistakes I made in the past. I completed my second semester with immensely improved scores. This lesson in life has showed me that I may have fallen off the track, however through a reevaluation of myself, I was able to rebound back much stronger.