Unrecognized Pride by Erich

Unrecognized Pride by Erich - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Eighth grade was almost like a senior year. It was our last year in middle school and my classmates and I were all excited to move on to the beast that was high school. I personally had enjoyed the work and education that middle school had to offer and was excited to begin learning at the high school level. Each of my classes had received the best of my work and my full attention.

One class, however, stuck out among the rest. This was history or, as we called it then, social studies. We learned of modern topics which were in the past, but not too far removed so I still felt a connection with them. I enjoyed reading and expanding my knowledge of history so much so that I went above and beyond in the assigned homework and projects. When asked to make a presentation on an invention of the 20th century, my friend and I put forth all of our effort and created a video project good enough to be showcased in front of the entire school. Sure, I was proud of our accomplishment, but this is not the moment I remember most.

Our graduation ceremony marked the end of an era in our journey. After the introductions and speeches had been made, we arrived at the awards. Science, math and English all went first and we concluded with social studies. I had put little thought into receiving any of these honors. After a short speech my social studies teacher called a name for its recipient of the class award. The winner was my aforementioned friend. He humbly received the award and I congratulated him without a second thought.

It was only after my parents had talked to my social studies teacher that I learned I was a very close second contender because she had it narrowed down to my friend and I from our work on our invention project. This surprised me greatly. I knew I was successful in the class, but I never thought myself to be at that caliber. The kind words from the teacher had surprised me so much because I hadn’t expected it. I was immensely proud of myself in this moment. I didn’t need a formal congratulation to be happy with my work, in fact I had so much fun in that class and with that project that any accolades that came from them was just a bonus.