In my early years, I was always two steps behind everyone else. When I was born, I could not hear since I had too much liquid in my ears, which would not drain properly. The problem was that my parents did not know that until a few years after I was born. Because I could not hear, I could not speak proper English. For example, if I wanted to say "pizza," it came out as "zappy." Not being able to communicate well was a big struggle for my parents to decode every word I was saying to make sense of what I was talking about. Also, because I could not hear, I had a hard time learning. From pre-school until first grade, I was not learning as quickly as the other kids and had difficulty paying attention because I could not hear what the teachers were talking about. Soon enough, when I went to the doctors, they told my parents what the problem was: I had liquid in my ears that was not draining. They described it as being underwater and being able to hear a little bit but not hear fully. So, I ended up getting surgery to put tubes in my ears to help drain out the fluids. After that, it was all coming together, but coming together slowly. For years after, I had to go to speech lessons to learn how to talk correctly and to fix my speech impediment of rhotacism. Then, for months after my surgery, I had to sit in a quiet room and raise my hand whenever I heard a beeping noise to make sure that my hearing was improving and not going back to the way it was before. But unfortunately, I was still struggling in school because I was so far behind the other students. From first grade up until fourth grade, I was always in the special needs classroom because the teachers thought I had a learning disability. I did not have one, so it required more help and time to move me along to my proper grade level. By fourth grade, I was back in the regular classroom because I was completely caught up with the others due to extra learning packets and more one-on-one time with the teachers. Then, I was able to work my way up to get all A's, which I would have never been able to accomplish a few years prior. By the time I got into middle school, I was placed in the honors classes and the advanced math program. Now, I have Honors Distinction while taking all APs and Honors classes with a 98.2 average. Not being able to hear and being so far behind the other kids was a big challenge I faced because if the challenges were never overcome, I would not be where I am today. I might have still been partially deaf and could have still had a "learning disability," but because I pushed myself at a young age, I am where I am now. If I just sat back and did not try as hard to earn my way into advanced classes, I would not be in the classes I am now. By putting in time and effort, I overcame the many obstacles that tried to set me back. I overcame not being able to hear, not being able to talk, and not learning by getting surgery, going to speech lessons, and getting extra help, and working incredibly hard to work my way up. The fact that I have had so many challenges that tried to set me back is what motivates me to keep going. I see how far I have come and how much I have succeeded in being where I am now. Out of everything that has happened, the lesson I have learned is that anything is possible as long as I work for it. I went from being two steps behind everyone, to now being two steps ahead because of my hard work and dedication. Therefore, I know that whenever I feel like I am lost, far behind, or I am not on the same track as everyone else, I just need to work hard to get where I want to be. I also learned that everything happens for a reason because if I never had those challenges, then I may not have worked hard to get where I am today.

In my early years, I was always two steps behind everyone else. When I was born, I could not hear since I had too much liquid in my ears, which would not drain properly. The problem was that my parents did not know that until a few years after I was born. Because I could not hear, I could not speak proper English. For example, if I wanted to say "pizza," it came out as "zappy." Not being able to communicate well was a big struggle for my parents to decode every word I was saying to make sense of what I was talking about. Also, because I could not hear, I had a hard time learning. From pre-school until first grade, I was not learning as quickly as the other kids and had difficulty paying attention because I could not hear what the teachers were talking about. Soon enough, when I went to the doctors, they told my parents what the problem was: I had liquid in my ears that was not draining. They described it as being underwater and being able to hear a little bit but not hear fully. So, I ended up getting surgery to put tubes in my ears to help drain out the fluids. After that, it was all coming together, but coming together slowly. For years after, I had to go to speech lessons to learn how to talk correctly and to fix my speech impediment of rhotacism. Then, for months after my surgery, I had to sit in a quiet room and raise my hand whenever I heard a beeping noise to make sure that my hearing was improving and not going back to the way it was before. But unfortunately, I was still struggling in school because I was so far behind the other students. From first grade up until fourth grade, I was always in the special needs classroom because the teachers thought I had a learning disability. I did not have one, so it required more help and time to move me along to my proper grade level. By fourth grade, I was back in the regular classroom because I was completely caught up with the others due to extra learning packets and more one-on-one time with the teachers. Then, I was able to work my way up to get all A's, which I would have never been able to accomplish a few years prior. By the time I got into middle school, I was placed in the honors classes and the advanced math program. Now, I have Honors Distinction while taking all APs and Honors classes with a 98.2 average. Not being able to hear and being so far behind the other kids was a big challenge I faced because if the challenges were never overcome, I would not be where I am today. I might have still been partially deaf and could have still had a "learning disability," but because I pushed myself at a young age, I am where I am now. If I just sat back and did not try as hard to earn my way into advanced classes, I would not be in the classes I am now. By putting in time and effort, I overcame the many obstacles that tried to set me back. I overcame not being able to hear, not being able to talk, and not learning by getting surgery, going to speech lessons, and getting extra help, and working incredibly hard to work my way up. Because I used to be in special needs classrooms, I want to work to become one of the best. The fact that I have had so many challenges that tried to set me back is what motivates me to keep going. I see how far I have come and how much I have succeeded in being where I am now. I want to be that girl who once was a whole grade level behind her classmates but then rose to the top and is now getting A's in college-level classes as a Junior in high school. By overcoming my obstacles, it made me believe that nothing is impossible, and by hard work and dedication, I can accomplish anything. It made me realize that no setback or challenge can stand in my way, especially to get where I want to be in life. When I focus and put in my all, I can get to where I want to be. Right now, I want to get into an excellent academic school, get good grades, and then get into medical school to become a general practitioner. I know that I can overcome anything, and no mountain is too large for me to move. Therefore, by being faced with many challenges when I was young, that out me two steps behind everyone else, it made me work harder to be the honor student I am today.