Academic Challanges by Ava

Academic Challanges by Ava - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

Life is about learning experiences. If someone fails at something, they ultimately learn what not to do. It isn't about if someone gets something right on the first try; it's about whether they keep persevering and figure it out. Everybody has multiple stories about successes and failures in their lives. Here is the biggest challenge I have faced throughout my life.
Challenges are often something that I have to overcome. One challenge that I have been dealing with for as long as I can remember is dealing with my learning disability and testing anxiety. In seventh grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD and a learning disability. This means I have severe testing anxiety, trouble paying attention, and understanding, and overall anxiety about everything that makes learning and listening extremely difficult. If I have an upcoming test it will send me into a panic where I am too freaked out to remember any of the material that I studied. This made me feel like I have put in a lot more work than anyone I know, which is extremely frustrating. Thankfully some accommodations can help me with this. I have a 504 plan that lets me take tests in a quiet environment, and I also have teachers who are willing to help me overcome this challenge. My accommodations can only help me so much though. I still struggle daily with my overall school anxiety and my attention span.
Although my learning disability makes me feel extremely hopeless and stupid at times, I wouldn't take it away. It has helped shape who I am today. Without my learning disability, I wouldn't have the work ethic that helps me get through everything. Work ethic is so important, and in today's world, a lot of people are lacking it. This is mainly because they don't struggle. The struggle is what builds a work ethic. I wouldn't have had to study if I hadn't struggled with every math unit. If I hadn't studied as much as I did, I would not have developed the skills that I have today.