Failed the Third Grade?!?!?! by Jose

Failed the Third Grade?!?!?! by Jose - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

"You should've paid attention in class, if you did you wouldn't be held back." Those very same words are what crushed my self-esteem and respect for myself when I have learned that I failed the third grade while all my friends were moving on. During the early years of elementary school, I did not pay much attention to my classes. I was a class clown for my school and never an academic student, I worried more whether I had friends in my class that I can make happy; never did I worry if I understood a lesson in class. However, when the final report card came in and the number 3 was printed on the next grade level, I was devastated. My friends were cheering with excitement when they had saw the number 4 printed on their report cards while I was trying my best not to cry in front of them. It was the last day of school, so my parents were at my elementary school to pick me up, I struggled throughout the whole walk from my classroom to the car not to burst into tears and when I finally got home I cried in my mother and father arms like there was no tomorrow. My parents assured me that I could still pass with summer school, so there was a slight hope.

I prepared myself mentally to no longer be the class clown and focus on my studies during my summer school classes. As soon as I took a seat in my chair I took out my notebook and I was ready to take notes. As the months passed by I found myself truly happy understanding what I was doing and making friends by not trying to make a fool of myself. I no longer looked around the classroom to see the so called "smart kids" giving me dirty looks, because I was no longer getting in trouble and I was respectable to my peers and to myself. As the date was closing in for me to retake the FCAT I was getting excited, because I knew for certain I was going to pass. I put even more effort than I had previously done for the last week I had to prepare myself. For once in my life I was ready to take down a test that was going to challenge my knowledge and I could not help but shake with excitement as the day came. A new set of experiences and life lessons were waiting upon me as soon as I walked into the testing room.

I found myself thinking that the passages and questions were easy. I had a smile on my face throughout the whole FCAT because I was certain that I was completely killing the test. I was even the last one to finish the FCAT and return to my class; my supervisor even told my teacher that she was surprised to see I took all the time I needed for the test. All the events during test day had me happy throughout the rest of the week of summer school. I left on the last day saying goodbye to all my friends and to my teacher, I even thanked her for helping me pass the third grade. Afterwards a waited until I received my results.

Once the results came in my parents sat me down and told me they had just heard from the summer school whether I had passed or not. My parents told me straight that I had failed the FCAT retake, I had felt my heart drop and the same feeling I had when I failed the first time. There I was again crying into my parent’s arms. Although, I did not end up with a good ending to my third-grade failure, I did end up becoming successful afterwards. Thanks to the eye-opening experience that I had overcome I was now paying attention in class and was even the smartest in the class. I ended up getting put in a honors program in middle school and now I am currently in a program for high school for bright students. I now have my schedule full of AP classes and I do not even struggle much with them. I got accepted into my top choice university, now I am just grateful for having to fail the third grade for setting me on the right path.

I did not end up with the happy ending to my failure right away as everyone expected I was going to. However, the failure that I endured has helped shape me into the young smart man I am today, I could not be happier.