Giving It One Hundred Percent by Sarah

Giving It One Hundred Percent by Sarah - February 2021 Scholarship Essay

As a child, my parents described me as a competitive, overachiever, who, regardless of these traits, always wore her heart on her sleeve. It never took much for me to become upset, especially when a situation did not go my way. Fast-forward to now and I would not describe myself as any different, though I do define success a little differently. Despite my tendency to be sensitive, my parents gave me sage advice that I only recently have begun to see come to fruition in my later years. My parents told me that I should never be disappointed in myself as long as I know that I did the best I could, at that time, with the resources I had. So long as I gave situations everything I had, I was successful.
Success, by its textbook definition, is considered to be achieved when one accomplishes something that they have set out to do. Usually, this goal is something noteworthy, or something that forces the accomplisher to overcome adversity to complete it. What is interesting about the word success is that it is commonly associated with positive things. Most people define success as their painstaking efforts culminating in some sort of win.
However, success is individually defined by every person. Success is and should be left up to interpretation by one’s own standards. After all, we are the most critical of ourselves. To me though, success is not the end result. Success is a measure of my own capabilities. I determine my success by evaluating what resources I had at the time and whether or not I utilized those to their full potential. In other words, did I give it my all? If so, yes, I was successful. If not, what more can be done next time to ensure that I do put my best foot forward?
Success is everything that leads up to the outcome. The outcome matters, but not in determining success. As humans, we are bound to fail. Mistakes, disappointment, and things not working out are inevitable. Sometimes we can chalk those “failures” up to our own faults. Maybe I didn’t study for that exam as hard as I could have. Sometimes the failed outcome is not our fault. I studied really hard for that exam, but I still only received a C. What we must be most concerned about is whether or not we tried our best. The thing about trying your best is that there is nothing better than that. It is a lot like giving one hundred percent into something – you cannot give more than one hundred percent; it is impossible. So, as long as you do your best, you are successful.
I am the first to admit that I am not always perfect in my line of thinking. There are times when I have failed, and I have blamed myself for it out of pity. It is easy to get upset and frustrated with yourself when the outcome you worked towards does not come to fruition. Applying this philosophy to real-world situations, however, is difficult. Within undergrad, I applied for a student employee position I believed I was a shoo-in for. I practiced my interview skills, attended resume workshops and, worked my hardest in a lower-level position. To my dismay, I was not selected for the position. I was devastated. I could not help but feel like I failed for not being selected. What took me a long time to realize was that the outcome of the hiring process did not define my success. My success was how incredibly prepared I was for the interview and how confident I had gotten in my interviewing abilities. While I did not get the position, I was able to use these skills in other interview settings and eventually get hired in multiple positions that I am proud of. What started as one failure, turned out to be multiple successes later on. Success should be looked at as our entire journey towards a goal. The execution of the plan made towards the goal is the most important, and even more important when it leads you to something greater. I succeeded because I did my best and used what I learned in the preparation to not to be hired for that job – but to eventually be accepted for other opportunities that have led me to where I am today.
In my future, I hope that I continue defining success as a culmination of the journey I took to reach my goals. I have no doubt that there will be times in law school where I will feel defeated. However, these small defeats lead to bigger wins. Every single failure is an opportunity to learn, whether that learning is about myself or a specific subject. Every failure, mistake, and disappointment I have experienced in my life has led me to exactly where I am today. I would not trade these formative experiences for anything in the world. After all, I would not be the same person I am today if I succeed every time I tried to complete a goal.