It was just another typical day in Mr. Richardson’s English II class. There I sat, staring at the wall, daydreaming about everything other than English. I just couldn’t wait until this class was over. When school ended, I went home that day, expecting it to be just another typical day, until my mother greeted me, not looking too happy. She explained to me how I had an F in English, and that if I didn’t improve my grade, I would have to go to summer school; I saw it as a positive thing. Seeing my friends everyday at summer school sounded okay to me. As the weeks passed by, my mother kept getting more and more frustrated with me, for the simple fact that I was not trying in English. I was just too stubborn and lazy to do all of the homework and assignments for that class. I was convinced that there was no way that at this point my grade could even improve, so I just gave up.

Later that day, I started thinking about the person I am, and the person I want to be in the future. I realized that in school just like in the real world, you have to work for everything and nothing in life comes easy. It is so simple to be lazy and not do your work. Any moron can do that. But, it takes a true responsible individual to do all of the work and pass every class. That is why there are so few students that receive good grades, because most students don’t want to make that commitment to their studies, to better their future. I decided that day that I didn’t want to be another teen sucked into the pool of conformity any longer. I was going to rise above the influence and succeed in all my classes, especially in English II.

The first few weeks were beyond challenging! I found myself doing homework and studying everyday until midnight. There were multiple times when I just wanted to give up and return to my old habits, but the determination in me didn’t let me it kept me going. I was in complete disbelief when the progress reports came out. I felt the greatest sense of accomplishment! I was so glad that all my hard work was beginning to pay off. I continued throughout the whole year to receive good grades and do all of my work. I never lost my sense of hope and determination.

The end of the year was coming very soon, and I couldn’t be happier. I was looking forward to sleeping in, and taking a break from all that studying. During one of the last weeks of school, I received a letter in the mail. It said that I was picked as the top student in the whole English II class! I was in complete shock all of the emotions that I was feeling at that time were unexplainable. The next day when I received my award, I couldn’t help but reminisce on how far I had come. I went from being the underdog, to becoming the top dog. I felt a great sense of pride and accomplishment. I knew that I was going to try my best to come back next year and receive another award.

This whole life-changing experience has taught me so many things about my future and myself. I now know that I can do anything that I set my mind to, and nothing is impossible. The key to succeeding in life is to accept that fact that nothing in life is easy, and a little bit of hard work pays off. Pain is temporary, but pride lasts forever.