Learning to Persevere: My Story of Academic Growth by Beverly

Learning to Persevere: My Story of Academic Growth by Beverly - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

I left my Algebra 2 class and took a three-minute walk down the hallway, around another one, and down yet another, earbuds in, hurrying so I could have four minutes to review my notes. I walked into my class, telling myself that I could do this, that I had notes I could use on the quiz, and that everything would be okay. I had no reason to doubt myself.
My mind flashed back to the previous week and weekend—me sitting on my bed with my textbook and class notes splayed out around me. The clock displayed 9:30 PM. Now it was Monday, my last class of the day: AP United States History. It was the second week of the second semester of my junior year, and we had our first weekly reading quiz. To say I was nervous would be an understatement.
I sat down at my desk, pulling out my five pages of notes. I looked around and noticed that everyone else had fewer notes. My teacher began passing out the quizzes. I took a deep breath and read the first question. I didn’t know the answer off the top of my head, so I looked in my notes, but nothing about that question was written down. I took my best guess and circled an answer. I moved on to the next question, repeating the same process: read the question, look in the notes, and guess the best answer. I finished all the questions just before the 10-minute timer went off. I got up and turned in my quiz, feeling absolutely awful.
After class, I headed home and started on my other, much more manageable homework for my other three classes. Later, I had to pick up my mom from an appointment. While waiting in the parking lot, I received a grade notification for APUSH. I took a deep breath and opened the notification to see that my grade had dropped to an F and that my Quiz 1 score was a 4/10. My heart sank, and tears started falling. It was my first grade in the class, and I was failing. I knew the class would be difficult all the way through.
When my mom came out to the car, I was still crying. I told her about my grade, and she reassured me: it was just one grade at the beginning of the semester, and I would need to reach out to my teacher for help. That’s exactly what I did.
I immediately emailed my teacher to request a time to meet and review note-taking and study strategies. By the time of the first test, I felt more confident, but I still failed it. At that point, I was worried and had to decide whether to leave the class or stay and try to improve my grade. I met with my academic advisor and class vice principal. They told me that, since I wasn’t failing outright, they didn’t see a reason for me to drop the class. Though it was hard news to hear at the time, I accepted it and began studying even more and using all my available resources. Eventually, as I learned how to take better notes and study more efficiently, my grade started improving.
On the day of the last quiz, I walked in and pulled out my pages of notes. This time, however, no one else had notes. My teacher passed out the quizzes, and as I read the first question, I immediately identified the answer and used my notes to double-check. I repeated this process for the rest of the quiz and turned it in before the timer went off. I felt great. When the grades were released, I had scored a 10/10! I sighed in relief—I had finally figured it out.
Overall, I finished the class with a B. Though it was my first B, I realized I had learned a far more valuable lesson about myself through the struggle. When I tried to switch out of the class and wasn’t allowed, it motivated me to work harder. Taking such a challenging course taught me not only how to study more effectively but also how to persist through difficulties. To my surprise, I even performed better on the AP exam than I had expected.
I learned that moments of challenge, whether academic or personal, provide opportunities for growth and mindset shifts that can lead to success.