Accomplishment
One academic accomplishment I am proud of is how much I have improved in the past years with asking for help in my studies. Since entering high school, I have gained a lot of confidence in myself as well as learned what I need to succeed. For example, during this semester when I wrote an analytical essay about a play we had read in class, I was very much in need of help and had to go back many times for guidance. Normally when it comes to essays, I am able to work efficiently and independently and create something thorough that meets the teacher's standards. But in my sophomore year, the criteria for writing has changed and I was forced to adapt to it. Learning to reach out for help has gotten me far in my life as a high school student, and I hope to continue to carry this skill with me into my college life.
Setback
Earlier this year, I was having a lot of trouble with my internship as well as my mentor. I was at my internship for around 2 and a half months, but all I did every day there was fold and iron towels. I was working under a woman with a solo business who was meant to mentor me and teach me about how she runs her business, but I ended up just doing nothing but the same thing every day that I went there, and I felt I was being taken advantage of and was missing an opportunity to learn. I advocated for myself about this, but my mentor would not allow me to do any other work due to my lack of prior knowledge. Eventually I ended up quitting the internship early to find somewhere where I can really learn. I am currently researching new internship opportunities that integrate skills I can use more in my future.
Additionally, one of the hardest obstacles I've experienced in my academic life was in my freshmen year of high school, after I had undergone major surgery and was absent for roughly a month and half. I was unable to complete any homework during my recovery, so I had to figure out a way to catch up on everything I had missed while still keeping up with current work in my classes in order to pass my freshmen year. This proved to me an immensely difficult challenge, as I was still recovering physically from my surgery, and was very overwhelmed since there seemed to be no backup plan already in place for me after my return to school. It was during this time that I believe I was forced to gain a lot of responsibility, since I had to individually go to all my teachers almost every day to discuss assignments only I was doing at the time, on top of current work. Understanding the current material was also a struggle, and additional tutoring for me was needed. This was a really stressful time in my academic career, but I was able to step up and pass all of my classes by the end of the year.