Overcomer by Sara

Overcomer by Sara - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

I took three chemistry classes in high school. The first class was a regular chemistry class with the hardest teacher in the school. I enjoyed the class and got a B grade. I then took an advanced chemistry course, which was mainly an organic chemistry class. Again, I made a B grade in that class. I loved that class so much I decided to take AP chemistry my senior year. I had hardly studied for my other two chemistry classes, and it came back to bite me in the butt senior year. And it bit hard.

I was in the gifted program in elementary school, and I've always made As and Bs, with the exception of one or two Cs throughout my life. When I signed up for AP chemistry, I knew I would have to work hard and study, but I had no idea what I had really gotten myself into. When I first signed up, the school had a scheduling conflict, and I was told I wouldn't be able to take the class. After a week of school, the school contacted me about the schedule and I was in AP Chemistry. I started the class taking my normal approach of pay attention in class, take notes, and I'll do fine on the test. The first few quizzes I didn't do very well. I'd made a C on one, and the other two I made a D. I figured it was because I was a week behind, so I decided to just keep doing what I was doing and I'd catch up by the time for the test. I was wrong. I was very wrong. I'd gotten what was then the lowest grade of my life on the first test. I had completely failed it at less than fifty percent. I knew I had to work harder and study more, but each time I told myself another excuse. I thought the homework would not count for much, and I was wrong. I thought the next test would be better, and I was wrong. I went through the first semester of the class thinking I could just bounce back like I normally would. I thought I can just make do, I will ace the next test, but never studied hard or finished the homework.

It was a hard class. The material was hard, and I was not doing the work. It was my own lack of motivation that had gotten me where I was. I ended the first semester of the class with my grade around a fifty. The second semester, my mother knew how poorly I was doing, and she partially helped me through it and partially forced me through it. She would stay up until two in the morning on a weekly basis, if not more often, helping me finish the homework. I would frequently stay after school past dinner working on homework or test corrections with the teacher. It was similar to having a tutor, but much more work. I had to not only do the work for that semester, but also make up for the work I had not done the first semester. I dug myself into a hole and I now had to fight my way out. I would work well over thirty hours on the weekends alone that semester just to finish homework assignments. I had to correct every test question until I knew I had the right answer for partial credit just to be able to keep my average up enough to pass.

I learned that I had to discipline myself if I really wanted to succeed. I figured out how to balance extracurriculars, friends and family, and a class I had almost failed. I managed to pass the class. My total average was three points away from failure. The entire year, I had been a hair's width away from having to repeat my senior year of high school, when everyone my age would have gone to college and left me at home. I would have had to face the embarrassment of repeating a year all because I did not study for my AP chemistry class the first semester. I learned a great deal of humility that year, as well as developed a new, stronger work ethic. I usually did not shy away from hard work, but I had not expected the workload necessary for that class. I hated working so hard just for one class, but the struggle has made me much stronger. I learned that I could hold my own under extreme pressure. As hard as I had to work that second semester, I knew all the while I had done it to myself. I decided not to let my mistakes get the better of me, and I buckled down and started really working. I managed to score well enough on the AP exam that I was exempt from the college level Chemistry course. I made a mistake, but that doesn't define me. I am more than my mistakes. I am an overcomer.