Persevering by Nature

In my college career I have already seen the value of perseverance come heavily into play. Here in college there is no one making you come to class, no one to tell you to go to some college event, and definitely no one making sure you are doing well in your classes. This is where perseverance comes in, especially if you want to do more than just get through college. In college you have to take it upon yourself to make sure you are prepared for exams. I found that out the hard way by getting a C on my first Linear Algebra exam. Going into the test I had left prepared, but as I later found out I had merely only mastered the math itself, and not the concepts themselves. On college math tests, or at least in linear algebra, half the test is true false, matching, and short answer. This really tests your knowledge. If you do not know the concepts in and out, and know how to break them down, you will not get an A on your exam. I could have dropped the class right after that exam, but I didn't because I have a strong desire to persevere inside of me. This desire was instilled in my first and foremost by my father. My dad learned it from his father, who was born in the great depression, was poor, dropped out of high school, and was not able to financially help my dad go to college as a first generation. However the values that he instilled in my father made him a hardworking, persevering kind of person. These values have naturally been instilled upon me by both of them.

My father has taught me that it is not alright to be average when you are capable of achieving more. He holds education very highly as the key to success and has worked hard to make me realize so. My grandpa also has instilled this on me by showing me where he got in life with two years of high school, and where my dad has gotten with 6 years of college. Since he is like a second father to me, his dream of education has become a part of me. Through this value, I have learned that persevering in school is a must if I want to be successful later in life My father managed to go to the University of Illinois and get his undergraduate in Architecture paying all on his own. The only person in his family that he had that could understand the college life was his own brother, himself only two years ahead in school. He then worked and got married before going to graduate school at the University of Michigan. After that he eventually became a partner and part owner at a 40 person firm. In that position he learned to love working for himself and has made me want to do the same. From him I have gained my desire to want to eventually start up my own firm. These achievements alone have really made me want to follow in his footsteps and get a great education, probably a graduate degree also. In order to get there though, I know that I will have to persevere. There will be many challenges along the way, but I cannot let my dad one up me.

As of today, doing pretty good is not good enough for me. I will strive to get the best grades that I can get. I know that I may not be able to get an A in Linear Algebra, but I will get the highest B that I possibly can, and As in as many of my other classes that I can get. I will take the necessary time and practice to prepare myself for all of my future exams. I already get my homework done in advance so I have the time to do these things. Now I simply just have to use that time available to me instead of wasting it. Now I write a plan of things I need to do to prepare for an exam. I start several days ahead of the actual date so that I have plenty of time in order to review the material. This is the case with my Spanish exam that is on Thursday. On Sunday I had already made flash cards, and got an idea of what I needed to review over and over in order to be prepared. I also email teachers, and go to office hours now when I do not understand something. This is something that I never had to do in high school in order to be successful, but I have realized that it will be necessary in college to do so. I am also working hard to build networks, and find pathways to securing internships, and eventually job offers. Although I did not get into Business Council this fall as hoped, I will continue to try until I persevere. I will do this because I know that it is an important key to my success in the future. I will not give up ever in my quest for success. When I am finally successful in the firm that I work for, I will be ready to move on and start my own company, and I know I will be good at it, because I have the value of perseverance instilled in me. With that, the sky is the limit; you can do anything you want if you really put your mind to it.