Writing Feedback / 'What I taught myself' - Essay Revision [5]

Please give helpful criticism. Thanks
The prompt: Write about something you learned on your own in less than 400 words

When I was in first grade, the big kids always got ahead of me in PokĂŠmon. They always beat the bosses first. They captured the rare PokĂŠmon first. Everything that could be done, they did it first. And I was getting tired of that. I always had to ask them for help. But I caught a break. The big kids couldn't beat Groudon. And my older brother, one of the big kids, recently got a guidebook that they never touched. I read through it in almost a day. I found out tricks the big kids never would have found. Soon, I was ahead of them. And after they saw how I far ahead of them I was, they came rushing to me for advice.

That could mean I taught myself how to play PokĂŠmon, which is true. But it also means I taught myself how to learn. That is the most valuable thing I taught myself. It was also one of the simplest. The trick? Stick to it. Even in the example of PokĂŠmon, I had to read everything I could, practice, fail, and keep doing it. This applies to everything else. When I taught myself astronomy, I had to read books and online articles, look at the sky every chance I got, and just keep doing it. It's just like Nike's motto: Just Do It. I just did it.

I even use this lesson to help me now. For example, I always ask my teachers "why." I even ask "why" for the little things, like why is the mix between sodium and chlorine called sodium chloride. If my teacher doesn't give what I think I a sufficient answer, I go home and use the omnipotent Google. I read Wikipedia entries, Harvard papers, NASA articles, and whatever else I can get a hold of. This is just one of the many ways I use this lesson now.

Of course, nobody learns anything just by himself or herself. I needed the help of my parents to teach myself how to learn. They always pushed me to just do it. Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to teach myself how to learn. I need my teachers to introduce me to new topics. They also need to give me insufficient answers.

I can truthfully say that PokĂŠmon taught me the most important thing I know. It shaped me. Without PokĂŠmon, I would have been a very different person.

Thanks,
Dudeman