I Will Not Fail by Angelica

I Will Not Fail by Angelica - March 2014 Scholarship Essay

On June 8th, 2013 at approximately 9 something in the morning, I graduated high school. I was a nervous wreck; a lump the size of a grapefruit was present in my throat, which was dry and dehydrated. I took my seat next to my fellow graduating peers awaiting the principle’s speech, anticipating the end; I couldn’t breathe. The speeches felt like eternity but ended too quickly; I wasn’t ready to walk the stage. The first rows of graduating seniors were subsequently called and the cheers and screams of proud, exuberant parents permeated the massive auditorium following every summoned graduate. My row was signaled to stand; my knees were weak, all I could ponder the weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds leading up to this very moment was if I was going to trip on stage as I received my diploma. There were 2 students ahead of me, I reached my counselor and as he shook my hand he smiled, nodded, and said, “You made it.”

Graduating high school was no doubt my greatest academic achievement so far. I was a graduating junior with Cum Laude Honors who managed to earn 12 credits in less than a year, and I graduated two days after my seventeenth birthday. The obstacles and setbacks I faced tested my patience, strength, and determination, but it was all worth it in the end. Most importantly I not only gained a new perspective on life, I gained self-confidence.

Who knew graduating early would be so complicated? Double core classes, A+ courses, online classes, CBE tests; someone please just shoot me in the face. Although I struggled and doubted myself, I never once gave up because that would prove I couldn’t do it, and I knew I could. In the beginning, my self-confidence was running on empty, I doubted my intelligence, my artistic abilities, even my self-worth. I was and will always be my worst critic. But as I completed different requirements here and there, I began to feel unstoppable. In the end, when it finally happened, I discovered how strong and persistent I can be when I truly want something.

Graduating early confirmed many things: ‘you can do anything you set your mind to,’ ‘you reap what you sow,’ and ‘hard work pays off.’ These popular phrases are said quite often but many times go through one ear and out the other. Before I would conclude certain things as impossible, now because of this accomplishment, I know you can acquire anything in life with a little effort and determination. I would have never presumed graduating high school would impact me the way it did. My dreams are to change the world, now I know I can make them a reality.