Write about a time when "hard work" paid off - 250 words or less
This essay is for a scholarship. I feel as though the prompt is incredibly general, and the word count is incredibly small. Any help whatsoever, with grammar, spelling, style, content, ANYTHING would be helpful.
Here's what I've got right now:
In my lifetime, I have often been instructed on the value of "hard work". I once thought this term to be frivolous and impractical; I was frequently told that I could "accomplish anything, if only I worked hard enough". I held no belief in this idea. I was cynical, to say the least... and I was wrong.
At the age of 18, I began my first attempt at a college degree. This attempt was quickly thwarted by the deadly disease of alcoholism and addiction, a disease which runs rampant in my bloodline. I spent years in darkness, homeless, financially and emotionally bankrupt, faced with an inescapable fate. At the age of 21, I arrived at my father's doorstep without a penny to my name.
The journey to recovery was far from easy. I had to rebuild my life from scratch. I obtained a job in manual labor with my fiancée, painting houses under a contractor. We worked long hours and spent little, saving until we could afford to rent our own apartment. Eventually, we became successful enough to be awarded with an opportunity I never thought possible: I was to return to school, and work toward what I couldn't achieve the first time.
After thousands of tears, dozens of sleepless nights, a 4.0 grade average, and my name on the Dean's List, I am now fortunate enough to awake each morning with hope-actual, substantial hope-that my dreams and passions are within reach, if only I work hard enough.
This essay is for a scholarship. I feel as though the prompt is incredibly general, and the word count is incredibly small. Any help whatsoever, with grammar, spelling, style, content, ANYTHING would be helpful.
Here's what I've got right now:
In my lifetime, I have often been instructed on the value of "hard work". I once thought this term to be frivolous and impractical; I was frequently told that I could "accomplish anything, if only I worked hard enough". I held no belief in this idea. I was cynical, to say the least... and I was wrong.
At the age of 18, I began my first attempt at a college degree. This attempt was quickly thwarted by the deadly disease of alcoholism and addiction, a disease which runs rampant in my bloodline. I spent years in darkness, homeless, financially and emotionally bankrupt, faced with an inescapable fate. At the age of 21, I arrived at my father's doorstep without a penny to my name.
The journey to recovery was far from easy. I had to rebuild my life from scratch. I obtained a job in manual labor with my fiancée, painting houses under a contractor. We worked long hours and spent little, saving until we could afford to rent our own apartment. Eventually, we became successful enough to be awarded with an opportunity I never thought possible: I was to return to school, and work toward what I couldn't achieve the first time.
After thousands of tears, dozens of sleepless nights, a 4.0 grade average, and my name on the Dean's List, I am now fortunate enough to awake each morning with hope-actual, substantial hope-that my dreams and passions are within reach, if only I work hard enough.
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