The Common Application: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did
"your teacher is making you college ready" the Math Assistant Principal said with great assurance.
The increase in workload knocked me off my feet. I always loved numbers since I was a child which is why I felt frustrated and angry when my teacher handed me my test results. I could see my summer plans drifting away as I imagined the horrors of summer school.
"Your son is in danger of failing the second marking period!" the words replayed over and over in my head as I was abruptly brought back into the moment from my mother's voice... "yaha kyā hai!" shouted my mother as she peered over my shoulders rigid and alert, I realized that it was too late to hide the note from her. She stormed to my room, grabbed the skateboard and threatened to garbage it. I begged her to spare my skateboard and in return she demanded to meet with my teacher.
I anxiously watched my teacher dig through his briefcase with my Mother sitting besides me, he pulled out my recent tests. I drifted away in my thoughts where I saw my Mom chasing me around the house with a spatchula. I instantly returned to reality when I heard my teacher state "He's a hardworking student and pays attention in class ...". My teacher recommended I sign up for tutoring. I have always depended on myself, never asked for help because I thought it made me seem weak and incompetent.
I was ready for intense scolding on the ride back home, but peculiarly my mom told me a story from my childhood. when I was in kindergarten, my 5 year old self was too busy playing cricket than learning my alphabets, and I got away with it because my parents were occupied supervising the construction workers in my house, my teacher asserted that I was going to get held back. I was tutored by my Mom for two consecutive weeks to such an extent that I was reciting the alphabets while sleeping. My teacher was astounded by my performance on the test and how I managed to learn me in such short time. I realized that everyone needs help at some point in life and not asking for help didn't make me strong, what makes me strong is recognizing that I need help and reaching out for it.
In my Indian family everyone excels in math, my mom tutored kids in India and my brother studied finance, therefore failing math was not an option for me. I felt guilty, my mom migrated to United states, made lots of sacrifices, and worked seven days a week so I could have a good education and I wasn't living up to her expectations.
While my peers enjoyed their lunch, I would knock on the math office door in hope to find teacher to tutor me. After school as soon as I stepped in my home, no matter how fatigued my body felt I would start my math homework because it was the most time consuming. I limited the time I would spend skateboarding with my friends to join the Math Club. Unusually my Mom was taking time out of her busy schedule to check how I was doing in school. Her support is what pushed me to wake up at 5am to attend Math Club where I received tutoring by my peers and learned new ways to perceive math. All my hard work had paid off when I presented my Mom my result for the Algebra regents, her eyes widened, jaw dropped, and she jumped from the couch to give me a huge hug. "Congratulations! you did it, I am so proud of you, see what a massive difference a little help can make" she said while still holding me in her arms. I am now able to rely and learn from others in all aspects of my life.
