Post #6
Prompt: When have you succeeded when you thought you would fail?
Finally understanding a new topic about something you’ve been trying to learn is rewarding, but it’s learning and understanding the new concept that’s the toughest part. Math at school never really posed much of a challenge, so during Junior Year, I decided to self-study the AP Calculus BC exam without any previous knowledge. I thought this exam would be easy.
I learned early on that the “pre” in precalculus was a lie. In most courses for math, each topic builds upon previous knowledge. Though precalculus may have given us the bare essentials needed to do a problem in calculus, the topics in calculus didn’t really build upon those bare essentials. Rather, it focused on learning new topics, something that I hadn’t done in a long time and wasn’t quite used to.
The toughest barrier came from trying to find the “area of 3D solids.” After spending countless hours on the concept of the isosceles triangles, I still struggled to get consistently correct answers. At that point, I thought that it was hopeless to understand all the topics. Though I was reluctant at first, I looked around for instruction. This decision proved to be the turning point. Studying became much more manageable when I worked with others. After someone was able to explain how this topic worked, I was able to blaze through the rest. Working with others led me to maintain a better study routine, showing that working together had other benefits not only sharing ideas. Seeing the steady progress led to a positive feedback loop. In the end, I was able to pull through using the studying routine and get a great score.
This journey of looking for help not only marked the moment in my AP journey, it also bled into other academic areas. As I took on the challenges that I had previously faced, the decision to take the first step was the most important. Collaboration had been the way to get unstuck from the imaginary roadblock. Teaming up with like-minded people led not only a force that got me through my challenge, but also led others in enriching their experience. In this way, we could share each of our strengths and mutually benefit from each other. That way, we could accelerate our growth.
This experience taught me the importance of working together. It became clear that there is strength in numbers and rather than trying to succeed by yourself, you can improve your experience by working with others. By working with others, I was able to realize more untapped potential. It’s not just about benefitting from others’ shared knowledge, which is definitely an incentive, but also it’s about being a part of their growth. Bringing all of our collective ideas together is almost like a machine. Although each singular part has its purpose and can be useful, when combined, it can create a completely different and amazing mechanism.
Please lmk if there's any way to improve this
Great post! You have really strong reflection throughout the story, especially at the end (you do a great job of showing your growth). One thing you could do is include more narrative into your story. Like for the part when you say that someone helped explain the topic of finding the area of 3D objects, tell the story of that moment (the aha moment).
ReplyDeleteHey Mason, nice post. I like the reflection that you have throughout the story as it adds a lot of detail about your past and makes it feel relatable. You definitely let the reader know about where you need to personally grow by being vulnerable which is good. I feel like you could put more narration into it though, because there aren't many moments when you are talking about how you felt when you were in the actual situation. This way, we can see your personal growth visibly instead of you just telling us: I learned from this moment because blah blah.... At the end I like your universality aspect but maybe try to hint it in earlier paragraphs but maybe that is just me. Otherwise nice job telling the story!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! You do a great job laying out the problem and demonstrating the growth you had while solving it. I think you could break off the idea about the "studying routine" from the third paragraph into its own paragraph, and narrate more about how working with people helped you with your study routine (it might help solidify the idea that collaborating isn't just about sharing concepts)
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