Drained from Success by Alexia

Drained from Success by Alexia - August 2013 Scholarship Essay

Of all of the quotes, theories and essays that I can list, the most interesting and valuable knowledge that I have cultivated through attending public school is that people will do anything to be successful. From pulling "all-nighters" to popping caffeine tablets before class to stay awake, these student who graduated with cords over their gowns and bags under their eyes will become the future business men and women of our nation.  According to the New York Times article posted in 2005, 20% of college students were using medicine not prescribed to them to enhance their concentration on a task.  In the past 8 years, the number has only grown to 87%.  Undoubtedly, these "good grade pills" can help students in their four short years in school, although the future of one's career may be injured due to the abuse of this un-prescribed assistance.  In addition, it shows that one is incapable of handling their own responsibilities.  Without the will power and integrity to accomplish your own feats with resources morally available to you, it dampens the reward you will later receive. I have always engaged myself in healthy competition, from Tae Kwon Doe to becoming a member of the Forensic Association, yet I have never surrendered my physical or mental health to the threat of failure.  Through these experiences in class, clubs, and extracurricular activities, I have found that some people will always be better than you.  All one can do is challenge their own aptitude as ones person is the chief form of competition, ripen to a better you each day by the grace of your own potential, and never see onself as inferior to people drained from success.  All what a pesron needs is provided to them in the DNA which forms his working hands.  As a nation, Union, and People, we need to learn to take responsibility for ourselves.