Randy Pausch Essay

During my high school days and the last few semesters when I was at Sandhill Community College I was way too comfortable. I slacked off and all I was thinking about was just getting doing the minimum to just be finished already. Recently, I was pushed by the looks of my grades that I just needed to get things done; I wanted to be free, not to do my best, just to finish so I could say I passed all my classes. Now I realize life isn’t about just getting by, but about bringing all you have to be able to become successful in what needs to be done. In the next paragraphs I will explain what I expected to happen, what actually happened, what I learned, and how I will apply what I learned to future plan.

I entered high school, and I made it a personal promise and goal to absolutely succeed and push my limits. So far, I have succeeded with this goal. From the beginning of my freshman year, I made sure I took the maximum amount of classes, and I finished each course with an A. I took advantage of an internship program at my school, where I shadowed one of the science teachers at my school. Throughout my Sophomore year, I continued this. I finished each course with an A, except for Biology, for which I finished it with a B. I am now in my senior year, and I continue to be successful with all of my classes.

As I began my junior year, I found myself juggling a rigorous academic schedule, varsity tennis, a social life and a new job. At first, I figured I could balance all of these activities. However, I became humbled by a 32% on an early Physics test triggering sheer panic regarding future applications to college. Knowing my grades needed to trend up as a junior, I dug down and did everything possible to improve my grades. I committed myself to a nightly study regimen consisting of intermittent on-off study blocks. Diligent removal of all distractions, including my I-Phone while studying was a major key. Also, I reduced my hours at work and often went to school early to meet with my teachers to review material. This action plan ultimately led to the improvement of my grades in all classes, culminating with a “B” in Physics and meeting my overall goal of a 4.0 GPA. Yes, I had failed a single test, but the real failure was not prioritizing and planning my activities proactively. The lesson I learned from this

Being a freshman in college, I set impractical and unrealistic goals for myself. Throughout the year, I had to overcome various obstacles to strive in meeting the goals I had set out for myself. One of my goals during the first year of college was to earn a 4.0 GPA. I thought this would be an easy feat as I was able to academically grow throughout my academic career—excelling from being roughly a 2.6 GPA student to roughly a 4.0 GPA student. One of the biggest obstacles I had to face was taking exams. In high school, I did not need to prepare for exams as much as I do in college. I underestimated my midterms and finals as I did not know that I had to study at least a week ahead of time in order to obtain suitable grades. In high school, I was able to study one or two nights beforehand and still manage to achieve high grades.

A special attribute that sets me apart is my tendency to work hard. I constantly try to do my best in everything that I do. Throughout high school, I’ve always set a high standard for myself by taking rigorous classes, joining sports and clubs, and maintaining a high GPA. Even if certain classes didn’t have any relation to nursing, club meetings were the day before a large exam, or tennis practice was especially grueling, I still worked hard and put in as much effort as I could. With this type of attitude, I was able to maintain Distinguished Honor Roll and a cumulative 4.08 GPA throughout my high school career. I chose to maintain this attitude during senior year instead of taking it easy, as I was able to gain knowledge and experience that

Don Marquis, a famed humorist, journalist, and playwright remarked: “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” If that is so, then I must have been a prodigy. Transitioning to a pristine and more work-driven environment, however, forced me to pay more mind to my grades.

Throughout my academic career, my grades and accomplishments have always been of extreme importance to me. To keep up with my goals, for example, making honor roll every quarter, I have taken steps and faced setbacks that have enabled me to see the big picture rather than focusing on the little issues that could discourage me from reaching those goals. To make the honor roll at my high school means obtaining a 3.5 grade point average or above for the entire quarter. As a freshman, I made it my goal to meet this standard throughout my complete high school career. To do this, I studied hard for every one of my classes, always did my homework, and put in as much effort as I could; I gave it my all. Through tough classes and staying up all night

Starting high school, I was not a perfect student. However, over the past three years, it is clear that my grades have drastically improved. Whether it was adjusting to AP classes or balancing extracurricular activities and homework, I became proficient at handling the twists and turns of high school. By smoothing out my rough edges, I have become a student with distinct goals and a strong work ethic. Having experienced both low and high ends of academic success, my abilities and mindset can be molded to any situation. I am confident that I have the talent, ambition, and the adaptive abilities to become part of a guaranteed

Great advice can change a life forever. In the speech “Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” by Randy Pausch, his good advice can change someone's life for the better and can have a positive impact on life. Pausch talks about his life and the struggles he faced throughout his life. He talks about the hardships of life as well as the remarkable moments worth remembering and the inspirational moments. Great advice can change a life forever.

About four years ago, I was just starting my first year of high school. During my previous tenure in middle school, I was basically an average student with multiple C’s and barely passing classes. So when I entered high school, I was not that enthusiastic about it and I continued the trend of not really caring about my grades in the 9th grade. As I became more aware of the opportunities I could get by receiving good grades, I began to actually care more about school and tried to get good grades. I began to do something that I never did before,

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo hosted Randy Houser on February 18 at 7 p.m. at the AT&T Center.

I admit, I had a very challenging time last semester, and as a result my grades suffered. I don’t mean to make excuses for my poor performance in school but I would like to explain my circumstance. During my second semester of college I treated my classes like I did in high school thinking I could coast by and pass my classes, but when I noticed how poorly I was doing in class everything was already headed downhill. I started the second

I’m definitely not the best student in the world, but I sure am one of the hardest working students I know. It was very easy to find me because I was always either at work, school, home, taking care of my grandma, or babysitting. I definitely had my head screwed on tight. I do believe that because I was/am taking care of so many people and trying to help my parents out financially, my grades have slipped quicker than I anticipated. I took on two study halls my junior year, and am taking on two study halls my senior year also. This definitely dropped my grade point average but I don’t regret it. I spend my study halls tutoring the students at my school. I specifically tutor for the Writing center and when I’m not tutoring for that, I’m helping

To get good grades, students have to study and make sure all their homework is done. For example, I had a friend in high school who studied everyday for hours. I, on the other hand, are in swimming and very involved in my church. How am I--with little time--supposed to get better grades than him? Therefore,

I can remember missing 8:05 classes because I stayed out too late the night before. In high school the teacher would constantly remind the students when certain assignments were due, but this was not the case in college. I learned that the hard way my first semester. Sometimes I forgot to turn in an assignment because I didn’t properly read my syllabus and my professor never mentioned it. These were all new problems that could have easily let escalate without taking the proper actions. For the most part I was doing fairly well but a few of my grades began to plummet. I was losing the confidence in myself and started to wonder if going to college had been the best decision. The time had come for me to grow up and become an adult even I didn’t feel the time was right. I immediately began attending tutoring sessions, working with peers and also keeping a daily to-do list. These factors were the eventually led to drastic improvement and success. After my first semester I learned how better manage my time, take advantage of campus resources and also how to organize myself better. These struggles also taught me that sometimes I try and rush through things instead of taking my time. I realized that one of my strong points is being able to really do well when my back is against the wall. Although I was unhappy while facing obstacles I am happy I experienced them. I believe this experience was the reason for my