Bouncing Back by Rebeca

Bouncing Back by Rebeca - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Everyone in the world has something to learn and everyone also has something to teach. I had much to learn my junior year and my history teacher Mr. Ramos had much to teach me. He taught me valuables lessons without even realizing it and I think it made those lessons even more memorable. I experienced a major bump in the rode halfway through my junior year and with the help of Mr. Ramos I learned how to stay persistent and not let my mistake define who I was.
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time November 2015 and resulted in consequences I wasn't prepared for. I knew better but I just made one mistake in my 16 years of learning right from wrong. I dealt with the aftermath and my consequences. I was required to change my schedule as a result and this was my first experience I had involving my now favorite teacher. He had called to deny me as a student saying there must have been a mistake. Normally I would have accepted his statement to find another teacher but i wanted the best education I could receive and I knew he was the best I could have as a teacher. This was my first lesson from him. After some time I was finally able to show him that I was prepared to work harder than I ever had to learn from him so late in the year. I used this lesson throughout the year and he had admired my persistence.
Something he taught me that was even more important was to not let my one slip up define how I thought of myself. My mistake had affected nearly every aspect of my life and was something I thought I could never erase. One day I came to class early in the morning and we discussed the issue. He made me realize that it is okay to mess up, it's human. We are not our mistakes and they don't define our future. We are defined by how we address our mistakes and how we choose to go one after them. When I realized this it felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders and that I could breathe easy once again. I was able to forgive myself for what had happened. Mr. Ramos' favorite quote was "It doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish that counts". To this day I repeat those very words to myself and it reminds my of a time where I just kept going because all that mattered was how I ended.