My Greatest Academic Challenge
My greatest academic challenge came to me at both the best and the worst time possible. Freshman year had been a breeze for me—I never felt like I needed to study for any of my classes, and I was going to bed before midnight almost every night. I didn’t understand why people said Lynbrook was academically rigorous and didn’t really expect it to get much harder. The following year showed me a real-life case of how hubris can get the best of you.
Chem Honors started out easy enough even though it was the first honors course I had taken at Lynbrook. The first test rolled around, and I got a solid A while the class average was a C. Instead of using this as an opportunity to work hard while I was in a strong position, I slacked off thinking that sophomore year was going to be a repeat of the one before. It wasn’t until midway through the semester that I realized my B in the class was not merely a fluke and that chemistry is not something that comes naturally to me. Something I’ve come to notice over my four years at Lynbrook is that I have a tendency to quit things I fail at and with many of my classmates dropping the class, this was definitely tempting to me.
It wasn’t losing my 4.0 or getting through the class that was my greatest academic struggle, but the mindset change I needed to go through. First semester sophomore year was such a defining time for me because that was when I made the choice to push and struggle through something I didn’t initially do well at instead of running away from it. I didn’t get an A in that class either semester, but what I learned was so much more important. I discovered my tenacity and that working hard is worth more than taking the easy way out. Now, as I’m about to graduate, I look back on that class proudly. Proud because I didn’t cheat, proud because I did my best, and proud because I didn’t give up.
Looking forward, I’m planning on majoring in biochemistry even though I know it won’t be an easy path. I didn’t pick a subject I have an innate talent for, but rather one that I enjoy and I’m willing to work hard at. My sophomore year experience came at a time when there was also a lot of other stress I was dealing with and in that sense, it was the worst time possible. But it was also because of the timing that I had to change my mindset, and for that, my greatest academic struggle and wake-up call came at the best time it could’ve.
