Not Just a Title by Sabrina

Not Just a Title by Sabrina - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

Academic achievements are earned through grit and hard work, not through how smart you are. Those who study and do their work get good grades and are recognized for their efforts through academic achievements. One such award is honor roll offered to students who receive a GPA of 3.75 or higher, and after four years of applying myself, I received this award many times with the end result of a cumulative 4.0 GPA and the title of valedictorian.

Honor roll is a basic gauge that students can see if they will get accepted into a college or not. It is not a one hundred percent guarantee and those who don’t have this title still get the opportunity to be accepted, but this award lets the student know that their GPA is high enough that colleges will take notice. After all, the high school noticed. It made my mother proud when I received this achievement when I was younger, so I strived to do my best every day so I could keep the award. Making my mom happy was my top priority, and through working hard to give her gratification in my efforts, I received my GPA. Now, I am enrolled in college because I did care about my schooling and GPA, honor roll was the main focus and GPA was the resulting outcome. This achievement made getting good grades something of worth. I had something to hold in my hands instead of some words in my mouth of, “I got good grades.”

This award not only gave me a reason to get good grades; it showed people that I had grit. Only the few top people in every class get honor roll accompanied by the title of valedictorian. This title opens up many scholarship and schooling opportunities, but what leaves the biggest impact is how people react when they hear about it. They say words of praise or nod, and they smile as if to say, "congratulations." What leaves the biggest impression on anyone is when a parent or relative says, “I’m proud.” At those moments, I know my hard work has paid off. Those simple words rejuvenate your drained energy and you have the momentum to stand up and do it again. They knew I had studied hard through everything and worked until the job was done, and anybody who hears ‘honor roll’ knows that person has worked hard.

The academic achievement of honor roll has left a huge impact on my life. It gave me drive and the want to get good grades and ultimately the admissions ticket into college. My good grades have opened up many scholarship opportunities, even if I do not receive them, the chance was still there. Earning this academic achievement was not just another piece of paper; it was proof of my hard work. It taught me work ethic and it set a high bar for college, and now, I will strive for good grades there even if honor roll doesn’t exist. This achievement was made for yesterday, but it prepared me for tomorrow.