Failure - What Comes to Mind When You Hear That Word?

        Failure. What comes to mind when you hear that word? I can definitely say a few things come to my mind. To me, failure does not mean that you’ve failed permanently; it just means you need to try harder, and I’ve gotten to learn that first hand. I’ve learned a lot of lessons since I began 9th grade. Throughout my years of high school, I feel like I have definitely had some setbacks and failures. But one thing I can say is that I have absolutely learned from them. Everyone has made mistakes, had setbacks, and has failed at something once in their lives; we’re only human.

        When I first arrived to high school in 2014, I thought that it would be a breeze; but early in my sophomore year I began to face a few obstacles. Mostly pertaining to my classes and grades. I knew I wanted to go to college, and I also knew if I wanted to get into a good college that I would have to achieve higher grades. I had become very lazy with getting my work done and turned in on time, and my grades for some of my classes reflected it. I knew that I was fully capable of learning the material and I was a great note taker. I knew If I wanted to raise my GPA I would have to make changes to my work ethic.

        When 11th grade started I knew this was an important year. Most colleges look at the grades and consider them the most for your acceptance. Junior year was my most stressful. At the beginning of the year I was doing great. I had decided to take an Advanced Placement class, which was US history (APUSH). I thought this would be great for me and help my GPA. Around October of 2016, we were all asked if we wanted to keep the class or drop it for the college prep class. I knew deep inside that I should drop it, because I wasn’t completely confident in the class. But I wanted the challenge, even though I knew it could be a setback in the future months.

This is now my senior year, and I knew from the previous years that I absolutely had to make a change. I’ve been doing great this year in all of my classes, including in the Advance Career Education program.  I know I’ve heard from a lot of people that your senior year grades may not matter to some colleges, but I was not going to let that stop me from doing my best. This year I’ve also taken the SAT, and I did well for my first time taking it. I definitely plan on taking it again before I start applying to colleges. I’ve been having tons of this last year and I want to make this year my best. Even with the setbacks and failures I’ve face, they have only made me stronger.

College is important to me and I absolutely want to go. At my age, high school is where many people face setbacks and failures. But it is the perfect time to learn and grow from them. One thing to always remember is not to let someone tell you that you can’t achieve something. I was told that I may not be able to make good grades with the track I was on, but I’ve turned that around and I’m glad to say that. And with being said I cannot wait to see what the future hold for me!