The Power of a Positive Mindset by Shamya

The Power of a Positive Mindset by Shamya - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

A time I overcame an academic obstacle would be having to alter my mindset to yield more success. Since the start of high school, math has been a weak point for me. I have always struggled and became completely discouraged at times while in class. When I entered high school I was coming from a public middle school, to a charter high school. The work was increasing more difficult, they placed me in accelerated math courses, where I had to balance two math classes in the same year. It was highly difficult to do so, often times I gave up and no longer had to energy or confidence to continue on math work I did not know how to do. I believed that if I could not do it at that moment I could not learn to do it either.
This mindset changed once I realized that I do not have time to play and if I did not get it the material I must learn it. When entering sophomore year, I was placed in a 11th grade based course, I worked to my limits to get my best grade. Through working my best I had to do several things to insure that my grade was good and I fully understood the material I was learning to be able advance to the next level successful. Often times, I saw myself wanting to give up completely when the material was too overbearing to handle. However, I pushed through this fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Where I allowed myself to grow past this negative outlook on my predicament to a more positive outcome from my struggle.
The pace continued to increase, entering junior year I was placed into precalculus, a fast paced course that does not slow down at any point. Entering this class I was very discouraged, the beginning lessons were difficult to grasp yet manageable. It was not until, the middle of the year that I found myself completely discouraged at the material. However, I did not stop and let myself fail, I dedicated my time to tutoring and bettering myself, and finally received a 100 percent on a math test. I was completely shocked. Overcoming a toxic mindset is very important in the success of academic achievement.