Last year, in my physics class, I was completely lost. I hadn’t realized how much work I had needed to start putting in as the content became increasingly harder. Each unit, I understood less and less. I struggled to finish the homework, blaming my busy schedule for not giving full effort. When discussing the homework in class, I nodded along, embarrassed to admit that I didn’t understand it. I bombed the second semester final, only maintaining what I my grade because my teacher was kind enough to add in extra points to round my grade up.
I was crushed. In the past, I had always excelled in the sciences, and was planning on going into chemical engineering. If I couldn’t keep up with a high school physics course, how would I ever be able to survive rigorous engineering courses in college? I was determined to make sure that I never felt the way I did after seeing that final grade again. I told myself that throughout the next semester I would give physics everything I had.
The next week, I searched for new ways to study. Online, I found a website dedicated to creating physics videos and study guides. For almost every day throughout the rest of the semester, I found myself watching and rewatching those videos. I began to make every effort I could to read the textbook. Countless late nights, I could be found sitting on my bed, eyes just barely open, reading about electric fields and forces. During access, a twenty minute study hall each student has after lunch, I would go into our science resource, attacking difficult problems or asking my teacher questions. I began training myself to put physics at the top of my list of priorities. If I was assigned a worksheet that was due the next week, I would start on the problems the very first night. I wanted to understand everything I could in the course.
By the time second semester finals rolled around, I was a physics studying machine. I had developed a familiar routine; read, watch, solve, ask, and repeat. I had learned how to approach difficult material with full force. Now, I was the one my classmates came to when they were confused. Instead of being stressful and frightening, the final showcased how all of my hard work had paid off.
