I Actually Hated It by Aniya

I Actually Hated It by Aniya - July 2026 Scholarship Essay

Everybody has their one subject or one class they just simply cannot understand. Mine was high school chemistry. To be completely honest, I hated that class. No matter how hard I tried, chemistry just never seemed to click for me. While other students understood how to balance equations or understand molecular structures, I felt like I was truly reading another language.

At the beginning of the semester, I assumed that if I paid attention in class and completed my assignment, everything would eventually make sense. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Every new topic or unit seemed to be even more confusing than the last. I would study for hours only to receive grades that didn't reflect the effort I was putting in. The most frustrating part was that I had never struggled with a class to this extent before. This class was actually my first class I had ever received anything below a B (I got a C).

For a while, I considered just giving up and simply accepting that chemistry just wasn't for me and still isn't. However, I knew that would only make things worse; so instead I tried attending tutoring sessions. One of the most valuable habits I developed was completing test corrections after every test we took. At first, I was embarrassed for doing so poorly as only viewed them as a punishment. I later realized that they were actually helping me understand what I didn't before and correct my mistakes. They forced me to slow down and identify where my thinking was going wrong. I learned to not focus on the grade I was receiving but learned to focus on the mistakes that were slowly helping me improve. Chemistry also taught me how to truly think and learn differently. Not everything can be answered by memorization; it required breaking down information and identifying concepts. I learned how to analyze my problems instead of letting myself become overwhelmed and stressed. There were many times when I felt discouraged, but I still continued to attend tutoring and showing others, and myself, that I can be successful.

Ironically, chemistry also helped me discover what I do not want to do in the future. If there is anything I learned with absolute certainty, it is that I will never major in anything chemistry related. While, yes, I respect the subject and the people who enjoy it, chemistry and I simply were not meant to be. Although it was definitely one of the most challenging classes I have ever taken, it ultimately made me a stronger student. I learned how to use my mistakes and grown from them, and it showed me that working hard for something you believe in will eventually pay off.