The Life of an Overachiever by Hailey

The Life of an Overachiever by Hailey - August 2025 Scholarship Essay

My uncle always tells me I need to "Get a B and get a life," but what if my life is getting straight As? For as long as I can remember, I have had impeccable grades, and my goal is to continue getting all As this year (so I can complete my goal of earning straight As all through school/high school). Most people I know think it is just because academics come naturally to me. They attribute it to luck, not hard work. What they don't see is the sleepless nights, the constant anxiety, and the feeling of failure whenever I don't achieve the goals that I've set for myself. One could say that I have an obsession.
That obsession, however, has gotten me to where I am today. I am in the top 3% of my senior class, can help/tutor other students, and have close relationships with my teachers. This has given me a love for school that is very rare in my generation. I enjoy going to school every day, have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and I am genuinely excited to start my college experience. This leads me to another incentive for getting good grades: college acceptance. I have been dual-enrolling in college classes for the last three years, which has been a struggle. It’s made me remember that I don’t know everything, and that I do make mistakes. On the other hand, it has given me so much confidence, because now I know I can handle it.
The last goal I have set for myself this year is to apply for early action to all the colleges I may want to attend. Not only will this give me a better chance for acceptance, but it will also allow me to have less stress during the second semester, knowing that everything is taken care of. I have wanted to attend college ever since I was young, and I am thrilled to be starting the process. Many friends have told me that my goals are too much work. I’ve been called a try-hard, a fun-sucker, boring, too serious, and many other things, but my goals aren’t for them–they are for me. I get so much happiness and satisfaction from completing my goals, and I know that my commitment and resolve will benefit me both in college and later in life.