The Key to Success

Education is the key to success. Without it life will be very difficult not just now, but also in the future. This does not include everyone, for example people like Bill Gates; he became a millionaire with a high school degree. Not everyone is as successful as him.

This is why we need education. My parents are my role models; they both graduated college and moved to the United States. When they moved here my mom continued learning in grad school, while my dad worked. This all comes down to me and the way I learn. I started school at a private school with about thirty kids.

I started learning basic things that are needed in everyday life. They taught me how to tie my little baby shoes, how to count to one hundred, and how to memorize the tedious alphabet. I believe that the way they taught was perfect. Teaching kids to do the basic day-to-day things at a young age is the best time to teach them. I went to preschool twice because I started school one year early. After preschool I went to kindergarten where I had a problem speaking.

I was very slow at speaking because I had a slur. The doctors told me to focus on my words and relax when I speak. For me this was an entire new way of speaking. Many other children would continue to speak the way they do. They would not have the mindset of overcoming such obstacles, but I did. Second grade was my first year in a public school.

It was a new experience because private school was very proper and disciplined rather than public school. There were a lot more students, disgusting lunch food, no uniforms, etc. In second grade I went to a school that was about one and a half mile away from my house. I learned to read and write more fluently. In third and fourth grade I learned to multiply and divide. One time, in fourth grade, I turned in a research paper and my teacher lost it.

I was upset because I did the work, but in order to get the credit I had to do it again. Once again I turned it in, and my teacher lost it. This time I did not know what to do, so I complained to my parents and they made the teacher put in a grade for it. Even though I did not get credit for it the first time, I did the paper again to get credit. Some people might have given up and blamed the teacher, but that will not help their grade. When I went to intermediate school I started taking higher leveled classes.

I joined the “gifted and talented” (GT) classes. These classes were a little more challenging, but I believed I fit there. I still did not see the point of learning even when I moved to middle school. My seventh grade year I took Algebra one, which counts towards my high school advanced diploma. I found Algebra one easy, so I took Geometry in eighth grade. This is the moment I started to fathom why school is important.

When I moved on to high school I took honors classes. My ninth grade year was the first time I got a “C” on my report card. I freaked out about it and my brother sat me down and told me that I am in high school and getting a “C” in an advanced level class is not bad. In tenth grade I took my first Advanced Placement (AP) class. I did not think this class was hard so I started to take this class as a joke. This is when I started realizing the importance of education.

This year as a junior in high school I am taking three AP classes. Along with that I am in four clubs. I stay awake until eleven o’clock almost everyday doing school homework. I also go to an SAT class three days a week for two hours, to advance my education. I put the drama and bullshit behind, because I know that if I screw up in the next two years my chance of going to college will be very slim. As a junior in high school I started learning the importance of education.

With role models like my parents that have been working tirelessly to get me where I am today I am confident that I will make it into college and get the best education possible. Aristotle’s words of wisdom influence me: “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”