values and beliefs we hold, make the best versions of ourselves
A world that is perfect does not exist. Similarly, a man that is perfect does not exist too but values and beliefs we hold dear is what shapes us into the best versions of ourselves.
The mind is everything, what you think you become and I am a firm believer of the importance of having a strong mind. Growing up was not easy for me, my mother passed away when I was very young. I had to deal with issues of grief and lost as I was slowly growing up and this made me mature faster than other children of my age group then. I also had to grow mentally to be able to understand and accept this fact. As a result, I was mentally strong at a very young age, and I do not succumb to adversity but instead work hard and grind my way through it. This have become second nature to me since I was forced to have this in me since young. Without a strong mind, I believe you will not get anywhere.
A strong mindset, is also important in another belief that I hold dear and that is hard work. I am a hard worker, I put in consistent hours and time into various things that I am interested in and strive to excel in it. This might sound counterproductive in a scholarship essay, but I am not gifted academically wise, despite what my results might show. I am a slow learner and I take time to absorb things. What takes me over the line time and time again is my hard work and the ability to grind. Success is 99% hard work and just 1% talent. Without the mental ability to keep your head down and work hard, talent alone is not enough.
A value that I hold dear is the ability to be nimble in the face of changes. In a society as volatile as ours, sticking to your own guns and working hard in areas that are no longer relevant is not going to do you any good. Instead the ability to be nimble and work hard in areas that require it is key. Personally, with the surge of IT related companies, I have been learning coding in my free time even though I might be pursuing a business degree. On top of that, I have been learning Malay in an effort to understand Singaporeans more and be more relevant to the Singapore society.
With a strong mentally, ability to work hard and be nimble to changes in an ever changing society, I believe that I am able to live up to the expectation of this scholarship and make NTU and Singapore proud.
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Essay is 451 words long, any tips and suggestions to cut short the essay? Help is appreciated!!!!Holt Educational Consultant - / 14,835 
4783 Jon, you have portrayed strong character traits of a person. These are not to be confused with the values and belief system that creates the ideology of a person. You have to understand the differences between a trait, value, and belief. A trait is a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person. While a value is a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life. The belief on the other hand is trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something. So there is a mistake in the way that you portrayed your response to the essay. Values in terms of the essay relates to the way that a person lives his life and can help you tell right from wrong. These are normally learned from your family, friends, and members of your community. While the belief, is the ideology that we have regarding certain things like a belief in god, a belief that evil never wins, that hard work always pays off in the end, and other similar mindsets. A simple editing relating to the content of your response will make it better aligned to the expected response.
