Personal Merit Research Paper

Merit is not something that any individual is entitled to. It is something that must be earned. To me, merit is not found in the perfection of a person, but in the progress that a person works to make. I take pride in the improvements that I have made academically throughout my high school career. My pursuit of excellence really began in the tenth grade.

Before tenth grade, school had come easily to me. I could excel in my classes without having to work hard or often even study outside of class. This changes when I began taking AP Biology with a group of seniors. Having no biology base prior to this class, I was stretched. I had to learn how to study and discover how I learned best. Through much struggle I was able to grow as a student and as a human being. I learned what working hard in school meant and began to see that having good grades and high personal merit was of great personal value to me. That is not to say that this class was without its struggles. There were many moments were I learned something new, sometimes the hard way, but growth was always present. The skills that I cultivated through this course
I have work diligently knowing that there are children around the world, girls especially, who do not have the ability to attend school. I was inspired most to give my all in my education when I was able to see those who have not had access to education first hand. I had the opportunity to take a trip to a remote mountain village in Haiti. While there I met a girl who was 15 years old, just as I was. Through communicating across the language barrier and with the use of fingers to represent numbers, I discovered that she was in the fifth grade. I was in tenth. From the moment one I have been able to better appreciate the value of education and how in having the opportunity to attend school, I should be taking advantage of this ability and doing my best work as to optimize the fortuity that I