Accomplishment Through Adversity by Brenden

Accomplishment Through Adversity by Brenden - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Growing up I seemed to have a harder time in school. I couldn’t read as quickly or comprehend things as fast as other kids. I went on with school practicing my reading and hoping it would get better, unfortunately it did not. So my mom had me work with tutors for much of my grade school and middle school years that would help me with my pronunciations and comprehension. Eventually I took several tests that helped determine I was dyslexic.

I’ve had many struggles dealing with dyslexia. Imagine mixing up the letters on the page, every “b” seeing a “d” and every “d” a “b”, confusing small words such as does/goes or at/to, not being able to spell, having difficulty decoding words and a hard time learning the connection between letters and the sounds they make. I had many accommodations that were supposed to help me, such as extra test time, notes, and an assistant teacher in the room. My learning was not where it was supposed to be and all my friends were doing just fine. So I was initially very discouraged when I found out, yet also a little relived to know what the problem was. As time went on I continued to get help and took a class my freshman year of high school that was supposed to help me with my struggles.

Therefore, a school accomplishment that I am most proud of is my academic success. Even through all of the obstacles I have faced I am taking harder classes than I ever imagined I could; honors U.S. history, anatomy and physiology and physics, and am getting A’s and a B. English, because of all the reading and writing, was always one of the most difficult classes for me, but I am getting an A in my English 12 class. I have been accepted to all of the several colleges I applied to and feel prepared to handle the college courses. In addition I feel confident to be an independent advocate for myself and my education. I have read about many famous people: actors, basketball players, artists, and inventors that I would have never guessed were dyslexic, yet turned out to be very successful in life. I may not be famous yet and maybe I never will be but I feel that my high school academic success is a great personal accomplishment not only for me but for my family and my teachers who have been with me every step of the way.

I continue improving every day and facing my challenge. I do not use my accommodations as much as I used to. The task that first seemed impossible I overcome every day and do not let it affect my learning. I still get frustrated occasionally but work through it and never stop working hard to accomplish whatever the goal may be not only in school, but at work or in sports.

As for the future I plan on continuing to work hard and continue my academic success in college. This big challenge in life will help me become a stronger person knowing I can overcome adversity. Even though dyslexia is a learning disability, I’ve proven to myself that I can overcome my challenge and have academic success. Having that success has taught me to be resilient and shown me that I can work through tough times and still continue to be successful moving on to college. I have had struggles with learning ever since the third grade; because of those struggles I have become a stronger more positive person and pushed harder for good grades and my high school academic success and am very proud of my accomplishment.