The experiences I have had, including the small ones, have given me the opportunity to revise my personal values and grow as a human being.

I blankly stared in utter confusion at the cluster of chemicals written on the board. I was not just lost, I was beyond lost. I felt as though I was in a maze with no exit and no remembrance of an entrance. Instead of trying to find my way out, I just found myself asking, “How did I get in here?” I was so lost that I couldn’t even manufacture a basic question to help me with the slightest form of understanding. It seemed as though each day the hole that I was in got deeper and deeper, eventually there would be no hope of getting out. At this point, the only sure thing I knew was that I was not going to pass Chemistry.

I reached a turning point where I was fed up with not understanding, done with feeling lost, finished with exponentially sinking into a depression. Lacking stellar math skills and great intelligence, I wasn’t going to let this class get the best of me. From that point on I started staying up late studying and going in early everyday for help. I felt like Rudy, beginning a mission to divert fate. As Rudy sacrificed his body and heart everyday during practice, I sacrificed my sleep and social life while working hard to obtain what I felt was my true potential. Weeks went by, I was still failing, still lost, still frustrated to the point of exhaustion. All hope seemed as though it was for nothing.

I continued to persevere through my frustration; slowly I realized small increments of improvement. No longer was I lost in what seemed to me an elaborate infeasible maze. The signs only pushed me to keep working, it got to the point where not only was I attentive in class but I could actually understand what the teacher was saying! This triggered a series of good grades on tests and quizzes. By the end of the trimester I had brought up my D- to a B - to this day it was the greatest B I have ever received.

I know it seems unusual that I am so emphatically proud of something as average as getting a B, but as I look back on that time I realize that there is a greater worth behind it all. The worst feeling in life is when you try once, try again and then try some more but nothing is improving and you’re still in the same place you started. This is what I was feeling, I felt as though I was putting my mind and body through too much all for nothing. I had a decision to make, quit like the average person would or put my moral belief to the test and keep pushing forward. I have learned that when all hope of success seems lost, your perseverance will determine what you truly deserve.

“Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses”, a truly underrated cliché. As a teen I have observed many things about people, one being the tendencies to gloss over the small yet quietly significant events that are essential for the development of one’s character. Meandering through life waiting for results is no way to live. A small event in life like receiving a B may seem insignificant but when you look back and think about everything you did to obtain it, the memories are lavish with life lessons.

In my personal experience I attained the true understanding of hard work, perseverance, and how they both pay off. I know what your thinking, “he basically said hard work pays off”. It’s not that simple. Sure anyone can work hard for a certain period of time, but can they keep working when all hope seems lost? Should a football player just stop working hard when their chances of getting on the field are slim to none? Absolutely not. They have to take the challenge head on and earn what they desire. Of course hard work pays off, it pays off when the individual pushed through the negatives and has proven to themselves that they won’t give up, they won’t be told they're not good enough, and they won’t take no for an answer. Only then is when the benefits of hard work are undoubtedly deserved.