#Don'tStop by Samantha

#Don'tStop by Samantha - April 2018 Scholarship Essay

My education has been littered by the roadblocks of life and that of my own hubris. I have had an attention disorder (ADD) my whole life causing me to forget not only school related items like homework but on occasion life's necessities like food and water. While I have been diagnosed for nearly 7 years, only in the past two years have I stopped treating myself as lesser for needing extra help. I used to hate that I could not remember assignments no matter how I organized myself, so I stopped trying. I resented how other kids did not work as hard but would get twice as far. When faced with a challenge I'd drop the class or ignore it rather than face my disability. However, with help from my supportive friends, therapists, and my wonderful school counselor, I have gone from having my grades nose dive to attaining a 4.0 GPA last semester. Getting a secondary education will not only help me career-wise but show me that I am not lesser because of my limitations. The next four years will not be defined by self-doubt, but my determination to prove myself to the girl who thought she could never find success.
When I stopped trying, I started going down a dark path of depression and lack of self-worth. If I persisted in that stagnant state I would never have found my drive and love for volunteering. I would never have found my passion for law and politics. And I most certainly would have never accepted myself for who I am, imperfections and all. Being stagnant affected every aspect of my education and brought it down into the emotional ditch that I had dug myself. By slowly relearning to move again I improved not only academically but personally also. Today I am not stagnant if anything I am running towards my goals with all my might and the one phrase I will always repeat to myself is, don’t stop.