Almanza, Melanie

11/7/16
1st
Sample Personal Essay
Prompt:
The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or
time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the
experience?

I’ve learned to become a very determined, independent, hard-working young lady

because instead of allowing my struggles to destroy me. I have learned to accept and build off

of them to make e even stronger. When I was younger I suffered from a great deal of verbal

bullying from many students and received no support what’s so ever from my teachers.

Student’s would constantly make remarks of me around me, to others about me, and made

notes and put them in my locker or would steal my stuff. The teachers of this school didn’t really

do anything to help me out because personally they also made remarks about me with

student’s. This not only caused me to feel a great deal of pain, but also caused me to have lack

of motivation in my studies. I allowed the remarks of me “being dumb” and that I won’t be

anybody in life affect my studies and give up easily on tasks I found difficult. Due to these

problems that I had and the lack of motivation I began to believe everything these students and

some teachers made, so my grades in school began to drop, my test scores were low, and If I

failed in a task or assignment I accepted it and mad no attempt to better. That went along for

many years until now. My freshman and sophomore of high school I carried the same mentality

as middle school so my grades weren’t the best of my potential. At the end of my sophomore

year I finally realized that there was a big issue that needs to be addressed and fixed. That was

my determination and how I need to strive for better and look past what other’s have to say. I

have turned myself around in a 180 and do not plan on going back to my old ways. I finally

realized that instead of believing the comments and remarks many said of me and allowing it to
change my drive and motivation I am going to build myself off of it and become better. I now not

only do all of my work but also try my best to do the best of my ability on it, and if for some

reason I do not receive the best grade of my capability then I will redo it and try to improve my

score. I am always striving to better myself and my studies in order to be successful and more

many who thought wrong of me. I carry so much determination in me and that allows me to be

very hard working. I will no longer allow my struggles and failures to determine my success but I

will allow it to only make me stronger. I am extremely grateful for that lesson because although it

wasn’t easy to overcome I did indeed get through it and became a better person. Now I am a

very hard working young lady who not only strives for better but does anything in her power to

try to reach her goal.