Learning to Listen by Jaden

Learning to Listen by Jaden - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

One of the most valuable and important lessons I have learned in life is taking criticism. When I was younger I always let things go through one ear and go straight out the other. I never really took what people said into consideration about me. As time went on though, I realized that receiving criticism is not something used to put you down. Sometimes, receiving criticism is an opportunity to make you a better person.

I really started noticing this change when my teachers and peers gave me feedback on certain things. Instead of instantly just trying to see if they were right or wrong, I tried to actually understand what they were saying and their perspective on the topics. This helped me realize that even though the feedback might not be what I want to listen to, there was still things I can take from what they were saying in order to better myself. This also helped me stop looking at making mistakes in a negative way. Instead of seeing a mistake as me just not being good enough at something, I realized that the mistakes can be learned from.

One of the biggest changes I went through is to stop being as defensive. When someone is criticizing something that I've done, I learned that it is best to stop and listen to what they have to say instead of immediately going on defense. I began to ask myself questions like "Am I being biased to my own wrongdoings because it's me?", or "Is there something I could've done differently?" Thinking about these questions helped me be more open-minded to others perspectives. I also learned that receiving and accepting criticism doesn't mean you have to agree with everything they say. It is the willingness to hear them out and consider their perspective and make a decision on whether I feel that their feedback is beneficial or not.

This lesson has really helped me become more confident in my skin. Before learning this lesson, I often felt embarrassed when I made mistakes and was too nervous to ever admit that I made that mistake. After I learned it though, I realized that no human is perfect in this world so mistakes are bound to happen, and that you would be doing a disservice to yourself by not trying to learn from them mistakes and improve. I try to accept when I am wrong, listen to feedback that's given to me, and use it to make better decisions in the future.

In my opinion, learning to accept criticism helped me more in more than just a school environment. It has helped change how I can effectively communicate with others, handle hardships, and also think about myself in general. I have become more willing to admit when I'm wrong and more comfortable with asking for help when I need it. I have also realized that the people criticizing me want to see the best from me rather than just pointing out my flaws.

In conclusion, learning to accept criticism has been a very important part of growing personally. It helped me learned that all feedback doesn't have to be viewed as negative, and if I listen to it and reflect on it critical feedback can be a great tool for improvement. I definitely still have moments where I still get defensive over criticism, but I try to handle these situations differently. I feel this mindset has helped become more mature, open-minded, and willing to better myself as a whole.