Personal Narrative: Failed A Math Test

It was the end of 7th grade year, and by that time I knew I failed classes, it was going to be the exact thing as last year. Except, this year my mom did not allow me to go to summer school, she told me that if I wasn’t going to at least try to my fullest potential, she wasn’t either. Being that I failed a class without going to summer school, I was kicked out of the Academy and sent to my base school. I wasn’t sad because at that point I just did not care.

When I was younger I failed myself and my family when I got held back a grade because I was not showing any progress in any of my subjects. I lost all of my friends, they began to talk bad about me because they thought I was not as Intelligent as they were. This effected me emotionally, I begged my parents not to hold me back a grade and to let me stay with my friends but my parents being tough said no, because school isn't about being close with friends, its about learning and making something of yourself. I learned a very important lesson the day I got held back a grade and that is to never give up and to strive to be the best in anything I do. I also learned that friends come and go, and that I can make more friends. I started studying every

I lost my financial aid because my grades did not meet up to the Satisfactory Academic Progress that the school requires. What happened was, there were only two available options for the MATH 152 class during the Summer Quarter of 2015. I chose the night class because the morning class was taught by a teacher I didn't prefer. However, the night class was only two days a week for 3 hours straight. Because of my naivety, I assumed that I wouldn't have any problems with the set up. Around this time, however, was Ramadan, which suspended me from concentration within the class, heavily effecting my scores on tests. Besides this, my grandfather, whom I loved and cherished, had just passed away the month before, on May 17, 2015, requiring 40 days

A recent event where I felt that I failed was on my A.P. Calculus test. I got a B-. While this may not be a horrible grade it was the first grade below a 95% that I had received all term. I had spent all of my summer at a rigorous Summer Academy called Noonan Scholars. There I dedicated my whole summer to learning calculus and taking a college English class. Math had always been an obstacle for me and I was determined to of better. I tried hard to understood all the topics and sought the Professor after hours. Receiving that B- was a drastic blow to my confidence. I responded to this failure by studying more and making sure that my grade never slipped again. In college I imagine myself being faced with difficult classes and I plan on working

I failed English 1303, and I am so disappointed. I began college with a positive attitude. I knew I struggled with focusing in high school, so I had an idea that college would be a whole new level of struggle stories. I know I put this on myself by hanging out with my friends so often, as well as being super unfocused. Along with these circumstances, my attitude was no help. Throughout the entire semester I felt lazy and unfocused. I didn’t even have to check my grade because I had already given up on the class. Instead of managing my time wisely I let all the deadlines slip right past me. Now I have to deal with taking English 1303 during the summer just to catch up to my class. I know this summer I will stay super focused because the feeling

While largely self educated, I never lost sight of how critical education is to success in life. I find myself now at a point where my own perseverance, passion, and dedication are simply insufficient to meet the intellectual demands of my pursuits. I have always maintained a fascination and keen interest in mathematics. A few years ago,

My fears were soon to become a reality as I was failing AP Trigonometry. My parents were not going to approve this in any circumstances. Days were counting down as well as my grade. I had no option; it was either pass the class or pray for some miracle. I had to change my surroundings in the classroom and my first order of business was to change my seat. I happen to change my seat and got place next to my cousins’ best friend, Henry. He was kind and sweet enough to tutor me even though I knew there was no hope. My prayer for some kind of miracle worked because my grades improve by a significant amount, thanks to Henry. Slowly the chemistry between us was evolving as we got to spend more time together. Finals week was soon approaching meaning longer study session; two weeks

When I was little, I was always good at math, before 8th grade, when I was in Germany and I came to America. But that changed when I faced the most difficult challenge yet Honors Geometry. Shy 8th grade me was too embarrassed and reluctant to ask my teacher for their help in math and it led to some very big consequences. Because I didn’t try to ask for help, I didn’t do as good as I could’ve and I didn’t reach my academic goal of getting the Golden Tassel.

After thought, I remembered my poor fifth grade math performance and thought about why I did better in the years after. I falsely concluded that I became more hardworking and proceeded to apply that solution to my present problem. I attended as many after-school study sessions as I could, and did every question in the book. On a few occasions I even found more online resources that could help me evaluate my knowledge and increase it. The culmination of my efforts succeeded, even though they were based on a false assumption. I had grown as a

After reading Seal’s article which stated that Americans often thought kids are born smart while Asians more often believed that studying makes a person smarter, I was reminded my own personal beliefs on intelligence and I realized that I have thought people could get smart by exerting effort since I was in the last year of elementary school in Vietnam. Therefore, I empathized with Seal’s attitude that success and achievement are a result of working hard. I could remember that I got this attitude when I was in an important final exam which decided where my middle school was in the next year that depended on my score. In this exam, the math test was an extremely difficult test for every student because it had a strange math problem which my classmates and I had never studied before. At first, I had spent for 2 hour to solve this problem, but I didn’t succeed. So, I wanted to give up. However, I was worry about my score and thought about my mom, who hoped that I could get the high score enough to enter a famous middle school. Since I didn’t want to disappoint my mom’s wish, I tried to solve this math problem again and again and again. Eventually, I was successful to solve

My friend B____ spent her whole summer doing one of those expensive SAT prep courses. 5 days a week, 5 hours a day. Most people would be glad to have not been in her shoes. Glad to have spent there 2 months of freedom sleeping in or enjoying California’s sunny beaches. But I couldn’t and still can’t help but feel a little jealous. Jealous of how good she’s doing. Jealous that she could afford such a well acclaimed course, while I was stuck with a SAT book. Mostly though I think the jealousy stems from the fact that I’m just anxious. Every day that goes by is valuable.

As a young child, I was timid towards participating in class activities, and I would not seek help if I was struggling because I was terrified of judgement from both my teacher and my peers. I was so insecure about myself, that I became obsessed with the idea that I was obligated to complete any task anyone gave me because I was a burden on them and their life. I would go out of my way to help someone on their homework to my own grade’s deficit, or I would knowingly place myself into the middle of social drama I was not involved in simply because I could not say no. This eventually resulted in me becoming both emotionally and physically exasperated. I began to isolate myself from both friends and family. This way, I could not be held accountable for

So freshman algebra rolled around and I loved it. After two weeks in the class I was three and one half chapters ahead of the teacher. He would only assign the odd problems for homework, but I’d do them all. Geometry was even cooler. But thinking back, not one of the teachers even commended me for doing so well. My father noticed I was good at it, but I thought he had to tell me I was good; he was my father.

I could not believe my eyes. I rubbed them over and over again, hoping that somehow reality fooled me. The only noise that I could hear was the continuous beat of my heart; thump, thump, thump, thump. It was as if my brain short-circuited and needed to be rebooted. With sweat running down my face, I gathered my courage and looked into the mirror. It has been months since I had the guts to glance at my reflection, and I was shocked. I did not expect to see such an oversized woman staring back at me. I closed my eyes at the horrifying figure and looked down to see the scale one more time. One hundred and fifty four pounds. From that moment on, I knew that things will never be the same

“Most of you did exceptionally well on this first test, but any one of you with a grade below a 70% should rethink how you study” said my AP chemistry teacher as he passed back the first test of the school year.