Personal Narrative: What Can A 37 % Do?

As I glanced down at my test, all I saw was a big red F. I couldn’t help but wonder how I had gotten such a bad score. I could see all of my classmates proudly smiling with their ideal scores. I started to speculate on why I had done so bad but then it hit me like a ton of bricks, it was because I hadn't studied.

I honestly was expecting to get an A on this class as it seemed an easy one. I have been able to keep a perfect score since I started school a couple of years ago but unfortunately my life got complicated when I accepted the job I have, which recently demanded a lot more traveling, not to mention that I am in the process of start a new business after purchasing a retail store a couple of months ago.

I've learned to become more attentive and conscientious of my weaknesses. I use my strength of persistence and diligence to resolve problems I find to be arduous. Two years ago, I was not meticulous, but now I've learned that every detail counts. It is not only about working hard, but it's also about working smart. It's about acknowledging my weaknesses and toiling until they are no longer my weaknesses. Math homework was never at the top of my priority list, but after identifying that as an obstacle in my success, I immediately altered the way I approached it. Math homework routinely became the first task I set out to finish when I arrived home. If there were extra assignments, I always finished them. Receiving a test that's covered with red marks, meant that I needed to understand what I did wrong. I started reaching out to my teachers and peers for their help and support. We created catchy chants for topics like Domain and Range. Overall, I would not have passed if I looked at my failure as a defeat rather than a delay and my goal as an outcome rather than a learning

My pre-calculus teacher walked from the front of the white classroom with a thick stack of papers and hands me an overturned test - normally a sign of bad results. The packet lands on my desk with a thud and as I flip it over, I’m devastated by what I see. On this single math exam, I receive the worst grade I’ve ever had in a class - a 56. My first thought was that everybody failed and that we’d have the opportunity to correct the test. But as my partner receives his assessment back, I quickly realize I’m wrong.

It was my last class of the semester, and the final exam was worth 30% of our grade.

I remembered dreading my very own existence at that moment, as were other students in that class. Mrs. Ulliman was always a difficult grader. Sometimes, she would even go as far as to measure our papers with a ruler to check to see if our margins were exactly on point. Every time you made a mistake, she would glare at you with a disappointed eye and tell you, “Well, that’s not right, is it? Let’s not do that again.”

When I realized the real difficulty in these classes, I almost withdrew from them. However, I also knew that these classes were opportunities I would not find anywhere else. This inspired me to study and work harder in these classes to obtain my desired grade. Using this method, I finished all of these classes with a grade above 90%, while also gaining college credit. Because of my grades, on my own time, I helped tutor fifth graders in math and english.

As I look back on my prepubescent years, I remember failing a difficult math test in the fourth grade. I was extremely disheartened. It was one of the hardest tests of the year, but I was determined to pass with flying colors. I had put my utmost effort into solving each of the problems, and I had even studied for days in advance.

In this life everyone in the world has opportunities, especially people from United States. In this country everyone is able to find financial help, either from the government or organizations, for education (Scholarships, FAFSA), and for health (Obama care, financial assistance). Sadly, some people are lazy or they just can’t get the help.

All my life I have been a lazy person, doing just enough to get by. Most of the time, in high school, I was content with just a “C”. The only time I wasn’t, was if it was a class I liked, and I paid attention to. If this was the case, I could have received a 99% on a test and been dissatisfied. But, for the rest of my classes, which were most of my classes, that I didn’t like, I never paid attention to or did homework, and I still managed to do well on tests. So basically I didn’t do anything except take tests and I still got satisfactory grades. In school I was so lazy that there could have been a project due worth about 20% of the final grade and I still wouldn’t do it.

If I had not have nearly failed fifth grade math, I would not be taking Calculus II in college right now. All of the repeating questions from fifth grade math failed to hold my attention. There was no escape from the boredom that left grades intact, and so I ended up barely passing math. That was a serious blow to my pride. Before then, I felt intellectually on top of the world. After receiving that grade, I was at least a couple pegs lower than before.

I was surprised that I didn’t know most, or any in that matter, of the lower and upper class questions. Most of them I didn’t even understand what they were talking about. For example, I was completely lost by the question about the free medical clinics, I had no idea where any would be and that could be life or death information for someone else. Or even the question about your favorite restaurants in different countries, I’ve barely left the U.S let alone know any of my favorite restaurants. I understood most of the middle class section, which is where I would say my family is at. My family had always decorated the house for different holidays, so I know exactly how to do this. It surprised me that someone would not know the answers to the

So freshman algebra rolled around and I loved it. After two weeks in the class I was three and one half chapters ahead of the teacher. He would only assign the odd problems for homework, but I’d do them all. Geometry was even cooler. But thinking back, not one of the teachers even commended me for doing so well. My father noticed I was good at it, but I thought he had to tell me I was good; he was my father.

For the past three years of my high school career, and now my fourth, I have made it an obligation to continually expand my horizons in regards to math; when I cannot fully grasp an idea or concept, rather than giving up, I relentlessly pursue the idea until it is understood. During freshman year, math did not come easily to me. I was forced to go in early some days because, simply, I did not comprehend the concepts. However, taking initiative with my school work, and constantly working through problems that were difficult can be deemed one of the best decisions I have made. Although my final grade may not have been an

This also taught me that it is acceptable to fail, as long as you focus on succeeding the next time. Demonstrated by my later passing grade, I changed my study habits to focus on getting a better grade, and I got the result I was hoping for. Hard work and determination led me to be able to say that I did it; that I