Success, to me is very clichÃÂé; going to college, getting a career, and one day establishing a family. Because of my actions though, my perception of success has been limited and now further out of my grasp. Throughout my academic career, my performance has gyrated between excelling intellectual ability and lacking academic effort. Just like a chronic smoker trying to quit smoking, breaking my habit of procrastination and lack of effort has been difficult and distressing. Although this alteration has been very challenging, taking this change step by step has made it easier but more time consuming. A quick look at my college transcript can compel the admissions office to place my application to the ÃÂÃÂrejectedÃÂàpile rather quickly, but with a more in depth diagnostic, one can extrapolate that a change has, in fact, been occurring subtly.
The peak of my academic achievement can be seen in my junior high school and elementary school development.
During that time period, I was seen as top of the class, hard working, and one of the most mentally talented. Every day, I would compete with the other intellectually capable in the class, trying hard to complete assignments before any of the others, with accuracy and efficiency. At one point in elementary school, I was excused from doing the given class work, and instead, I created the problems for my classmates to do the following day. The only thing at this point that was fueling my ambition was the competition. I didnÃÂÃÂt have a thirst for knowledge; I had a need for adrenaline.
The downfall of my crowning achievements came halfway through 8th grade. I was taking the honors math class, proudly holding a seat on the official Math Team, and building virtual bridges for a competition in my spare time. The only...