Me?

Fresh Princess

09/09/14

Period 4

Autobiography

    Nothing is ever handed to us in a golden platter. Not success, nor happiness. I learned this first hand the summer of sophomore year. I grew to accept that sometimes we need to fail in order to succeed. One of the most challenging things I ever had to do was build and program a robot. I had never felt so accomplished once I finally did succeed. The experience from that summer was honestly the most rewarding thing ever. 

    During freshman year, I joined this program called Upward Bound: Math and Science.  I would attend classes every Saturday and once summer rolled around, I would also take summer classes. The summer program was probably the most enjoyable since we were able to dorm on USC's campus for five weeks. Thanks to living with my other classmates, I was able to meet some of my closest friends. On the more serious side, the Robotics class was really challenging. Our teacher pushed us and would try break us at times, all in the cause for us to give it our all. We learned to make our goals clear and to make sure we believed we could achieve them. Mr. Santos, our Robotics teacher, teamed us up and we started doing challenges with our robots. I can not emphasize how difficult this was. We had long nights trying to figure out the programming, and numerous headaches from these challenges. Tears were even shed.

    It may not sound so hard, but a robot is like a blank baby. We had to make sure every single step was included in the programming. When we built our robot, we had to do it within a time frame. No one in the class finished during the time frame. My group and I were the first to finish. As we ran back to our seats with giddiness and smiles, our teacher said we still failed. We looked over and told him that, yes, we did indeed fail, but we were the first to fail. Out of all the challenges, my group was the only one that succeeded with most of them. We failed HUNDREDS of times, but once we finally did accomplish them, it was the most rewarding thing I had ever done. If you fail and fail, but learn and grow, that itself is rewarding.

    That summer, I could say was very productive. During our end of the program banquet, our teacher surprised us by giving us an honorable mention. My group was absolutely stunned. All the groups worked just as hard, but he said our determination allowed us to achieve what we strive for. After leaving the summer program, all the things my Robotics teacher told us stuck with me. I have not forgotten what he told us. He genuinely cared about all of us and wanted us to see the best we had to offer. I can honestly say the experience changed me. I learned that in order to succeed, you will first have to fail.

    My thoughts on myself also changed. I tend to feel pressured and stress out. After that, it happens less often! I try to just take it and make the best of the situations now. Nothing can stop anyone from getting to their goals. Barriers are only barriers. We can overcome any obstacle if we set our mind to it. I am glad I was able to learn this and accept it. Goals are goals, and they are mine. I will achieve what I set my mind to. It is just a matter of a bit of failure, but that's okay. As long as I do.