Meeting My Friend GRIT by Lyna

Meeting My Friend GRIT by Lyna - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

The two languages I speak at home fought with each other as I tried to balance between English and Vietnamese. Despite feeling confident in my English, I would always fail the ELPAC, English Language Proficiency Assessments for California, for English learners. I watched my peers pass these tests while I was still retaking them every year up until my Freshman year of high school. Every year, I was always embarrassed to be pulled out of class to take the ELPAC. I was scared and ashamed that everyone assumed I couldn't read or write in English. The idea of continuously failing the ELPAC and having to take another English class in high school was daunting too. However, I was determined to pass this exam.

In school, I was taught about GRIT, which stands for Growth, Resilience, Instinct and Tenacity. This growth mindset helped me create a long-term goal I wanted to work toward, which kept me motivated. I started off by seeing what category I struggled with the most, which was writing and reading, and focused on that. I started using Grammarly as a resource in middle school, which would point out my grammatical errors. This helped me learn from my mistakes and strengthen my grammar. I also discovered the joy in reading when I found the Percy Jackson series. I would read almost every day, and because of that, I started improving my comprehension skills.

Fast forward to Freshman year of high school, I was still worried about taking the ELPAC despite my preparations. However, I was surprised when my English teacher said that I did not need to take the test anymore since I was exceeding in her class and earned a high reading level score on the state’s reading level test. This meant I was no longer classified as an English learner. This was one of the happiest moments in my life because I proved to myself that I belonged on the same level among my peers as an English speaker. I could finally breathe again. With my newfound confidence and skills, I now know I can achieve greater things.