Life lessons tend to stick with you forever when they come from the realization of your mistakes

Georgia Tech Essay (How failure changed you as a person)

Life lessons tend to stick with you forever when they come from the realization of your mistakes. I'll never forget this or the importance of what my father was telling me during my first attempt at the SAT exam.

During my 11th grade summer vacation, I started thinking of the possibility of studying in the US and decided to take the SAT exam. I had plenty of time and felt that I was adequately prepared for the test, but I never took one piece of advice my father gave me during my preparation - "Try spending 3 hours and take the test the test as if you were actually in the examination center, and wear a watch to time yourself". I was overconfident, ignorant and satisfied with my somewhat below satisfactory prep, which I realized later, that I didn't even think to consider what he had said and I refused to take my watch because I thought that I could finish my test well within the allotted time. I understood its significance just after finishing the first section of the test. The moment the invigilator said "Times up!" and I saw that I had left 13 questions my flaw hit me hard in the head. It was one simple piece of advice which I was too self assured to accept. I'll never forget that feeling. I managed to score a par score of 1370.

My failure in the exam taught me several things that I'll never forget in life.
Exams, like many other things in life, aren't only about preparing for the test because it's the small things that prevent you from making it to the finish line. A man with pure intelligence will achieve nothing unless he is ready to accept that there is always someone better than him. I understood some critical flaws in my character - over confidence, ignorance, and arrogance - and tried the correct them. The Sat exam has changed how I tackle the every life-changing step in life. i learnt to respect the advice my elders gave and although advice need not always be good, it is never wrong to consider it especially if it comes from people who are more experienced and intelligent than you.

Three months later, just after my half yearly exams in school, I decided to take the SAT again. I didn't have much time to prepare for it but I was definitely not going to make the same mistake again. I timed myself and wrote the practice papers as if I were really in the examination center, exactly like how I was told. I could see my performance improve after each paper I completed.

I completed the SAT with the feeling that I had done well and it showed too, I scored a perfect 800 in math. And this time I had my watch.

Akash, I really love the way you presented the lesson you learned from your failure to perform well the first time you took the SAT's. It sounds like a lesson that any teenager would have experienced due precisely to the reasons you stated. Your essay really drove the point home about listening to our elders and making sure that you have properly prepared for an exam. I would have liked to have heard more words of wisdom and encouragement from your dad after your failure though. I am sure that you felt quite bad after you failed and he did what he could to cheer you up. It would be nice to see that he supported you through the failure and encouraged you to keep trying. Reminding you that there were lessons to be learned from your mistakes and you realizing that he was right. Somehow, the epiphany that you are presenting in the essay would have more of an impact if you were helped along this road to self discovery and enlightenment. Perhaps adding a sentence or two about your dad not blaming you for your failure and saying that you should have listened to him, the "I told you so" moment, would help bring a more intimate and personal feel to the lessons you learned from your mistake.

Thanks for the valuable feedback @Holt, I'll make sure to add that.