Perseverance in my life

Essay by theitalianjoe627College, UndergraduateA+, February 2005

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"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent." - Calvin Coolidge

I learned the truth in Calvin's words only a few weeks ago. This year I'm taking Linux, a difficult computer class at Orange High. I came into the class with the most experience, confident that I would do the best in the class. I was expecting to be able to fly through all assignments and test with a minimal amount of effort. But, I soon learned that this class was not going to be as easy as I had predicted.

My difficulties started with the very first assignment. We were given the simple task of installing a few drivers on the computers.

I couldn't understand why Mr. Thoyre, the teacher, had given us a week to complete such a trivial task. I sat down at my computer and began the assignment which would only take a few minutes at most, and discovered why he had given us so long. I was a newborn trying to walk. Linux was unlike anything I had used previously. Everything I tried failed, and I was almost immediately stuck with no idea of what to do next. Even worse, almost everyone else was having no problems completing the assignment. I was already ready to give up and ask a friend how he accomplished the task.

Before I gave up, however, I decided to give it a few more tries and look for some guides on the internet. I found an excellent website that not only pointed me in the right direction, but also gave an...