Sacrifice by Rocco

Sacrifice by Rocco - October 2019 Scholarship Essay

Sacrifice is a virtue not easily learned, but certainly one of the most important for life. Few children have the capacity to prioritize their school work over games, and I was certainly not one of these blessed few. The day progressed slowly as I peered through my window hoping my homework would disappear. Watching my friends play soccer in the park next to my home agonized my mind. I put my homework away and undone, and ran to the park desperate to touch that ball. My mother saw this trend, and decided to take immediate action. A few days later, she sat me down and instructed me to memorize the multiplication table, and I would not be allowed to go outside until the task was completed. A rage inside me rose to express my feelings of injustice and proceeded to argue my case. Those days felt like the love for my mother ceased, and I made sure to make it known. I never realized truly how much it pained my mother to watch me not be happy, but she knew it was for the better. It was not until many years later when I had surpassed my classmates in every subject of mathematics that I realized the importance of my mother’s actions. She knew the value of sacrifice that she learned through raising my two siblings and I as a single mother in a third world country. She knew the sacrifice needed to move my family to America and the endless hours of work needed to grow a business while nurturing her children. However, these sacrifices were never known because of her humility. Through her silence, I was taught to contemplate the work she had done, and was inspired by it. That is why I knew that if her toil had got me to America, it was my duty to never slack off. During high school, my mother never checked my grades, not because she did not care, but because she knew that she had taught me well enough that it was not necessary to remind me that, for an immigrant, excellence is a duty, not a choice. After fours years of cross country, three years of soccer, three years of track, and a 4.0 grade point average, I can certainly say that none would be possible without sacrificing group hangouts, parties, and friendships. However, as the son of a single mother, I know that she also had to give up many things to get us where we stand today, and that no sacrifice is small enough to achieve your goals.