C's Get Degrees and Hard-earned Lessons by Tammy

C's Get Degrees and Hard-earned Lessons by Tammy - July 2023 Scholarship Essay

I stared at the two blaring C-‘s on my laptop screen. These were the lowest grades that I received for General Chemistry II and Introduction to Biology. As a matter of fact, these were the lowest grades that I had ever received in my academic career. The feeling of devastation and doubt began to overshadow my conscience. I began to question how I got to my current position. I remembered that I would put off studying for the quizzes and exams until the day before and furiously crammed the required information. Procrastination was my best friend. Unfortunately, I realized that I had a toxic relationship with procrastination too late. Due to the scholarship agreement, I had to maintain passing grades in order to keep my financial standing. This resulted in my biggest failure, losing a scholarship due to academic negligence.

An extremely tough financial lesson that I discovered the hard way. I had to change my habits. Immediately. The two C-‘s that I received had jeopardized my scholarships. I continued to question whether I was cut out for college. However, I completely switched my study habits and organization of notes the following semester. I realized that I am a repetitive visual learner. Going over the PowerPoints that the professors uploaded did not suffice in my education. I began to search for other educational resources that were readily available. YouTube and Khan Academy became my new best friends. These resources immensely aided in my learning style and information retention. Instead of trying to learn to pass, I began to learn for understanding.

Today, this hard-earned lesson has shaped me into a student who values that mistakes help you grow. I am now more conscientious of my decisions and their repercussions. I have become more careful and triple check every deadline, document, and assignment that I have. This ensures that I am adequately prepared and accomplish my academic objectives. I am now in a position where I am grateful for this untimely lesson of life because I have learned from it. Now, I can educate others about my mistakes and hopefully prevent them from doing the same.