Molly B., Oakwood High School
Digging Up My True Self
Two of the best dinosaur names are opisthocoelicaudia, a sauropod; and huehuecanauhtlus, whose name comes from the Aztec word for ‘ancient duck’. I like words. And history. And dinosaurs, obviously. But most of all, I love science. However, there was a time when I would’ve said the exact opposite.
Seventh grade was one of the hardest, though probably most important, years of my life. I never had to study in elementary school, only paid attention and got good grades. Once I hit junior high- that wasn’t the case. I remember getting bad grades on many of my math tests and feeling like a failure. I thought, ‘Well, guess I’m an English and Social Studies person.’ That existed as my mindset throughout the entire year. I knew what I was good at, and accepted the fact I would always be mediocre in STEM subjects. I wasn’t happy; and wished for a way to get my life together and reach my full potential. It all changed in eighth grade, when I discovered a good mindset and confidence in yourself is all it takes to be happy.
Our eighth grade science class material encapsulated geology, earth’s history, evolution, etc. The coolest subjects ever, right? …I didn’t think so either. I strolled into the year believing it would be like the last. However, when we began talking about dinosaurs- I was hooked. I discovered that science wasn’t hard or boring, and it quickly became my favorite subject. I ascertained that the only thing holding me back was… me.
My negative mindset changed my entire way of thinking. You know the saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again?” I thought more, “If at first you don’t succeed, try a little bit but don’t put too much effort in because you’ll be wasting your time working on something you’ll never be good at.” And then I asked myself- why? Why am I not good at science? Why can’t I be confident? Why can’t I be happy? The answer was… well, there wasn’t one. And once that fact became clear, my outlook on life turned on its head.
I applied myself to my schoolwork and found study habits that worked. I didn’t stress out about one bad grade anymore, and instead of saying ‘I’m not good at this subject,’ I asked myself: Had I not studied? Did I not understand the material? There’s always a reason, and it’s never ‘because I’m bad.’
My plan to live a happy life has many steps, and I realistically will have rough patches. But what I’ll always remember is that being kind to yourself and having a good mindset can change your life for the better. This plan helped me grow from thinking I’ll never understand science to wanting to pursue it as a career. It turns out that learning to live happily and to the fullest isn’t as hard as learning to spell opisthocoelicaudia, it only takes a positive mindset.
