Facing Challenges by miranda

Facing Challenges by miranda - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

Like Pele once said "Success is not an accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love for what you are doing and learning to do." I agree that working hard is important in order to achieve your goal because what comes easily leaves easily. Throughout my life I have experienced many obstacles that have created the person I am today.
One accomplishment that I am very proud of is overcoming the difficulty of learning a new language and growing in a different educational environment. It was hard to leave the life that I had in Mexico, where I was born and raised, and go to a country that would offer me the opportunity of getting a better education. I want this so that I can give my mother the life she deserves.
When I started school in the United States, my first challenge was to learn and speak fluent English.
I struggled in my classes because I could not understand the teachers. I remember I had never experienced so much stress until the day when I walked into my first class. All I could hear were words that I was not able to understand, really just gibberish. My grades went from 100’s and 90’s to pure 70’s and 60’s. This stage of my life was very stressful and difficult.
The semester was filled with frustration, and it only continued when I entered high school; the words that the professors would use were too complex for me; the essays that I would write were two-thirds Spanish and one-third improper English. Sometimes I would cry out from the frustration of not being able to understand what was being said, of being incapable of expressing myself to others so they could understand me, and being inept at writing anything like I knew I could in my native tongue.
Thankfully, this frustration only lasted for a half of a semester. This whole year filled with barriers ended when I felt the support from my school and programs offered there for people who are not fluent in English. They gave me hope that I could reach the American dream, even if I was struggling with English and did not know it perfectly.
Because of this, I started to recognize that I am more than just a student who wants to graduate from high school. I began to challenge myself. I realized that when I was not communicating well in English, I could use other ways to communicate my ideas. So, I began to work hard on getting more knowledge in English and started understanding my classes. This dedication paid off. My current GPA is a 3.5, and I am student number 22 in my senior class. Today, I am involved in many clubs that help me with my communication and my community service.
All my accomplishments have been possible to reach because of hard work in overcoming difficulties in learning a second language. Challenging myself by learning a whole new way of education in that second language has taught me to trust myself and my capacities. Through perseverance and sacrifice, I have learned that obstacles in my life are just opportunities to grow and display the “love for what (I am) doing and learning to do."