Do you ever look in the mirror and ask yourself, “How did I get to where I am today”? That question refers to the journey you took to get exactly where you are in this moment. That journey is what defines who you are and makes you different from one another. Today I am going to talk about my journey and the experiences that led me to be the person I am today.
When I began high school, as any typical freshman, I slacked off and did not have my priorities set straight. My perception of what was important in life did not include my education; it included hanging out with friends, going to parties, and doing everything to not be at school. This immature mindset continued on throughout my sophomore year. Then I received my final grades for sophomore year and I realized that I needed to change my ways if I ever wanted to make something out of my life. In turn, junior year I worked hard and spent extensive hours studying to assure that I would get good grades. As you could imagine, it was challenging because my GPA was low, but I successfully accomplished my goal, landing myself a spot on the high honor roll.
That alone taught me more than just knowledge; it showed me my true potential. As an immature high school student I abused my success, I felt that because I did so well I didn’t have to have the same focus as junior year. I spent my senior year putting my effort into irrelevant things instead of school,I believed that the knowledge I attained from the previous year would carry over and I would have to do the minimal amount of work. Once again, I was wrong and I was blaming everyone else for my failures.
I justified my mistakes with excuses to the point where my whole life had become one big excuse. I was not attending class, or doing my homework, and I was not proud of who I had become. With college coming fast, I knew I was not ready. I did not know enough about myself to invest money into me going to a traditional four-year university. My parents and I decided it would be best for me to attend a community college, and at the time it seemed like the worst idea ever.
Little did I know, that would end up being the most beneficial thing I could have done for myself. My first semester of college was a lot like my senior year of high school. I thought I’d be able to skate by, once again that proved to be wrong. The moment my life changed was after my math final, I came out to my car and I knew I had failed. I looked myself in the mirror and said, “How did I get where I am today”? After that I had a serious moment of reflection, I looked back at high school and saw that I was repeating the same mistakes. But I also knew I had the potential to do so much better as I proved junior year.
From that point on my life has been different because I have changed my entire life perspective. Even though I am surrounded by classmates and aquaintances I am at this community college alone. All my close friends attend colleges that are not around the area. This has given me time to reflect and realize that my education is the most important thing in my life. I now get good grades, attend class every day, and of course I blog about success to all of you. I couldn’t be happier with who I have become as a person. The point of this story is to show you that it is okay to make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes lead you to where you need to be. All you have to do is learn from them. That is exactly what has made me into who I am today.
Now I urge you to reflect on your journey and your life. Are you making the same mistakes you have already made in the past? Are you proud of the person you are today?
Tara K.