Effort is an essential aspect of ensuring a successful life, whether that’s in a relationship, education, or even succeeding in life.  How do I know this? I was on the brink of failing the eighth grade. 

I was always an A plus student. My dedication to succeeding was always noticed and admired by teachers.  I always strived to be better than the previous year. When COVID-19 became prevalent and caused the world to go into  quarantine, I found myself thinking that I could handle being in the house without having to worry about the workload; I had so much free time that I used it for my own interests instead of my school work. I always told myself that I could complete my assignments later. I became so comfortable with procrastinating that I noticed that I started failing my classes and not understanding the material. 

This genuinely put me in a stressed state because I was not used to not knowing or understanding what was being taught in the classroom. So, I began to find myself pointing the finger at everyone: my teachers' work being too much, I didn’t have enough time to complete my work, I didn’t get enough sleep, or I was too stressed. All these excuses became repetitive and I started running out of them. I didn't realize I was at fault for my own failure to put effort in until my older brother, who was attending college lectures online as well, called me out and said “ You have to stop making excuses and just do it. How do you expect to strive and succeed in your dreams if you keep brushing off the hard work that comes with it?” 

I came to the realization that my struggle stemmed from my lack of effort. From that day on, I dedicated my time and effort into completing my missing assignments and attending office hours to understand the missing content. It was definitely challenging to stay consistent but knowing that my effort would reciprocate my results motivated me to continue trying. And in a switch, my failures turned into A’s and I excelled in the lessons.

 I adopted the motto “What you reap is what you sow” to remind me to put off procrastination and to work for what I want. I believe that effort is an essential aspect of ensuring success in life because an individual can not wait for something to be handed to them because waiting is a form of delay, according to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. An individual has to persevere through adversities in order to improve and ultimately achieve their goal(s).