The Academic Challenge That Transformed My Thinking by Natalie

The Academic Challenge That Transformed My Thinking by Natalie - July 2026 Scholarship Essay

Being in college around two years ago, I faced a challenge that helped me ultimately strengthen my academic success but also my critical thinking skills as well. But the majority of the challenges I faced were my own self-confidence in thinking that I could never be as good and having such a small-minded perspective towards myself. I've always seemed to have so much criticism of my own work or my ideas just weren't enough. But while spending time in college, my English professor helped alongside me and gave me advice, but also taught me to be more open to my ideas to begin with and expand on those ideas. This, in a way, helped me build confidence in all my work and even made me better at lowering my anxiety with presentations about how confident I've become within myself. Instead of thinking small-minded, I was able to look into new ideas to strengthen my critical thinking skills. Without this, I couldn't have been able to face the challenges at first. Which makes writing paper easier and faster without any road blocks and that is something I've very much thankful to receive from college and I hope to achieve many more habits along the way.