4.0 Research Paper

During my freshman year of highschool, I was determined to keep my grades high and obtain a 4.0. As the first semester of 9th grade ended, I possessed all A’s and performed well on my finals. Then, as semester two quickly came to an end, I ended up with all A’s except for one class: World History. Finals came around and my grade became low in that class and my chances of getting the 4.0 I dreamed of became slim. I needed to receive higher than a 96 percent on my final to get an A in the class, which seemed almost impossible. I thought to myself that I need to study really hard for this final if I want to start off highschool with all A’s. Also, I prayed very hard and kept faith that I would be able to accomplish this challenge. Therefore, I studied every little detail from every notes, homework, and worksheets that I had received all semester. In
addition, I memorized all of the notes and review guides from every chapter, so that I would be completely ready for the final. All my preparations would be helpful come final day. It was 5th hour and the toughest final so far. As my teacher passed out the tests, I became more anxious to receive it and take my time to answer every question thoroughly. When I went through the test, I became relieved because I knew almost every single answer and was sure that I got at least above a 96 percent. Reflecting back on this moment, I realize that with hard work, anything is possible if you have faith. The A I got in that class was never just given to me. That A was earned, not given and anything that seemed impossible freshman year, became possible through hard work and faith. The most important lesson in life is that you should always work hard and have faith in what you do.
A great example of some who never gave up was Walt Disney; He created Disney World.
These people dreamed of going here ever since they were little. Some call this place the happiest place on earth, while some call it the most magical place on earth. At age 22, Walt got fired from his newspaper job for not being “creative enough”. He also possessed a business that went bankrupt and people told him that the idea of Mickey Mouse would never work because it would terrify people. Despite these failures, Walt Disney never quit his dreams of cartoon animations and ended up very successful. Walt Disney created this place even though people told him that he would not be capable of doing so. Disney easily could have given up and turn away from his dreams because other people told him horrible things. However, Walt kept faith in himself and that motivated him to achieve the many things that he did. Even his famous quotes demonstrated how he valued hard work: “If you can dream it, you can do it”, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”. This shows that even he valued hard work as important in
life. Like Walt, people go through rough parts of their lives, but they should never lose faith in what they are doing because it motivates them to work even harder. This is why faith and hard work go together. Motivation to work hard does not come from anywhere. When people have faith, it automatically makes them want to work hard. This lesson applies to everyone and every aspect of life because not everything is easy and given to people. They have to work to get what they want because life is tough and nothing is ever given.
Lebron James became my role model when I was a child and his life is a great example of how hard work can get people to where they want. Throughout his first few years in the NBA, Lebron did not possess any championships and was heavily criticized for that. He made it to the finals a few times but could not win. Then, he finally won a championship and became motivated to win more after that. After winning his first title, his famous slogan became “earned, not given” and that carried on with him throughout his entire life. James’s defining moment of his career came when he was down 3 games to 1 in a 7 games series against the NBA’s best regular season team in history. He brought his team back and won 3 straight to secure his 3rd championship.
These examples shows how a lot of hard work and faith can get anyone, no matter what situation, what they desire. For example, I studied very hard and ended up getting the A that I really wanted; Lebron never gave up and ended up pulling off a miracle; Walt was determined to follow his dreams and became very successful. With hard work and faith, the dreams in life that many dream of, will definitely turn into reality.