NO by Thaovi

NO by Thaovi - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“No.” A word that I have heard an ample amount of times in my life. Being said no is the most devastating thing to be told when stepping out of your comfort zone, when trying new things and attempting to become the best version of yourself that you can be, but it happens. These past four years, I have stepped beyond out of my comfort zone. I tried things I never thought I would do. I ran for office, I auditioned for the school musical, I tried out for one of the sports team, and I got interviewed for a job. And in return? I was told no. No, someone got more votes than you did. No, you are not good enough. No, there is just not enough space on the team for you. No, we found someone better than you. How am I supposed to overcome any of these situations?
Life is full of ups and downs, and these are just a few examples of some of the downs. But luckily for me, I have the most amazing support system, from my family, friends, and even teachers at my school. I went to a school for four years that supports, loves, and serves one another. This school was Glacier Peak High School, a school with a little over seventeen thousand students and faculty in a town called Snohomish. The teachers here are always there for you and engage us to help us become the best students and individuals we can possibly be. One science teacher taught me that whenever you are told “no,” we should not be discouraged but know that “NO” means “new opportunity.” When you “fail” at something, it just meant that it was our “first attempt in learning.” No words have ever stuck with me thus far. It opened my eyes to why failure is always an option because you need to go through the adversity to see what we can become and overcome. Since then, hearing the word “no” have led me to new doors of opportunity.
I had this science teacher my freshman, junior, and senior year of high school. She is a mother, grandmother, teacher, and most importantly a friend, but so much more. I have learned an incredible amount from her, not only academically, but what it means to be a loving and caring individual. As a science teacher, she always says that failing is important because you need to learn from your mistakes and ask yourself questions and create answers for yourself in order to make the next experiment better or what you could do to succeed the next time. As a science teacher, she told us that she even still messes up her experiments. “No one is perfect, but you got to keep trying” she would say to us to encourage our young minds to keep moving forward and not be discouraged. When we made a mistake, she would not get frustrated, but help us understand the material better to keep us on our toes. She always asked how we were doing and showed us a great amount of character which I have learned from her that to be successful, you need to be nurtured.
Learning is like a simple sports game. When you fall, you have to get back up on your feet because if you do not, you cannot move forward towards your goal. And I have done exactly that. My science teacher’s words of encouragement only made me want to work harder and push myself to do what I wanted to accomplish and they did end up working out. I did run for office again and became the Senior Class Vice President. I worked hard in the off season and made the team the next year. And unfortunately I did not try out for the school musical until my senior year of high school, so I could not audition again, but I was able to reflect on what I did in the process to prepare for my audition and was proud of my working process. I never got the job, but I’m still applying and will not stop until the day I find one comes. Now that I am entering college next fall, I have these lessons to remember so I do not give up on myself.