It Takes Tenacity by Bella

It Takes Tenacity by Bella - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

My freshman year of high school was wholly insignificant before I decided to take a chance on the Greenhand Quiz Team for my school's FFA chapter. I had never competed in anything before, never really taken on any significant responsibilities beyond my own needs, let alone for a team-based contest, and I was doubtful of my own abilities to even keep up with the material. Despite it all, however, I was determined to prove myself. Not just to my teammates or my teacher, but to prove to myself my own ability to take on the challenge. In those months leading up to the event, I planned and studied more than I had ever pushed myself before. I showed up for the team meetings, shared my notes, flashcards, and quizzes as often as I could, and anxiously prepared as the days crept closer to that final summation of our efforts.

When that day quickly came, I was almost nauseous as we waited outside of the computer lab doors. The possibility of failure, despite my relentless efforts otherwise, was sickening and unfamiliar. I felt the weight of it roll around my mind before we were finally let in, and my eyes strained on the words on screen as I answered question after question. Just a few hours later the results were released to the collective, and I anxiously read through the stream of names listed. I soon learned, however, that it wasn't the competition that I wasn’t prepared for, but the results. I managed not only a passing score, but one of the highest of the freshman teams. My relentlessness hadn't just spared me from disappointment, but had allowed me and my teammates to excel that night. For the first time, I was able to understand that my own limits were what I decided they were. It wasn’t my parents, my teachers, or my peers that determined how far I could go, but my own ability to push through my doubts, and tirelessly pursue my own goals.

I don't know how long it would have taken for me to understand this had I not taken that chance my first year of high school. Who knows if I would have challenged myself with my AP curriculum, if I would be completing the veterinary practicum course that I'm enrolled in today, or if I would have managed acceptance into the university I now look forward to attending for biomedical sciences. The tenacity I now carry every day is one of the most valuable lessons I could have learned from that moment, where my efforts managed to culminate not just into a personal win, but a lesson on the vastness of my capability.