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Rudra Solanki

Professor Williams

English 111

8 October, 2023

Educational Success: Ladder to Happiness?

“Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.” (Dale Carnegie).

This quote by Carnegie means that true happiness is felt when you appreciate your achievements.

Throughout my whole life, my educational goal has been to be successful. For this, the teachers I

have experienced throughout my school years have paved the way. Sometimes there may not be

a choice when it comes to performance in school, but the importance lies in being open to taking

inspiration from teachers to help you become successful, which leads to happiness. True learning

happens when you enjoy it. My early schooling was interrupted by my family moving between

countries. People in school who were prominent influences on who I have become include Mrs.

Smith, my 3rd-grade teacher, Mr. Hilburn, my Middle School Math teacher, Ms. Chase, my

10th-grade English teacher, and Mrs. Howard, my Math 3 teacher.

My education journey started when I turned four years old, living in Canada, my home

country. The following few years were quite complex. I only attended school for about a year

before I moved to the United States, but I had already learned how to read and write, even

though I wasn’t the best at it. In the United States, I attended part of kindergarten, then briefly

moved back to Canada. My family was still in the process of finding a proper place to settle

down in America. When we permanently moved, I was five years old. I was turning six in a few

months when I began attending the K-12 School that I currently study at. At first, the school said

I could not begin 1st grade because I was younger than the other children and had not properly
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finished Kindergarten. However, after my mother insisted that I was capable, I was allowed to

take a test to prove my abilities. I ended up doing well, and my real journey began after my first

success.

My education life in elementary school was not remarkable until I reached 3rd grade. I

had one of the best teachers I could ever need to light a spark in my educational endeavors. Mrs.

Smith introduced me to reading “harder” books. I began reading and falling in love with young

adult fiction novels. I read through the entire Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series. I

even read Harry Potter, which was more than 700 pages long. She also taught math in a way that

made it easier for the years to come. I remember being able to memorize my multiplication

tables up to 12 fairly quickly because she would give us all a timed test every few days, and

whoever finished before the timer ran out would be rewarded with a treat. This repetition

effectively integrated the simple multiplication into my head. My biggest takeaway from this

year was that I was happy. I found joy in reading and math for the first time. I even scored a 4

and 5 on my first-ever EOGs. These successes sufficed in keeping me content with my life for

the next few years to come.

As I finished elementary school, it was now time for middle school. 6th grade went by

quickly, and I did not learn much. School started to become dull and tedious. I have faint

memories of doing a science lab involving the fertilization of plants. Throughout middle school,

some teachers taught as if it was a burden on them, dreadfully bland. It was in 7th grade when

my interest in education began to rise again. My English and social studies classes were

enjoyable. The most significant event was joining the Mathcounts team. Mathcounts is a middle

school math competition held annually throughout the nation. The team coach was Mr. Hilburn,

an 8th-grade math teacher. Mr. Hilburn elaborated on multiple math concepts which were all new
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to me. Math had started to bore me, but his teaching methods were intriguing and fun. We spent

months preparing for the local Mathcounts competition, and soon it was time to compete. When

the competition was over, the results shocked me. I had the highest score on the team and placed

9th in the entire contest. This moment caused me to realize that I was better at math than I

expected. This experience made me realize that math makes me happy, especially when I am

successful at it.

Then the pandemic began…and life changed for a lot of us. We had to learn from home,

which was not terrific. My home environment was not always the most suitable place to study

because my mind was familiarized with this place being for relaxation. Nevertheless, school

work did not change much, but the amount of knowledge I gained was less than what I would

have if I did not have to be at home during Quarantine. I soon reached 8th grade and Mr. Hilburn

was my Math 1 teacher. His teaching style changed due to some days of the week being

e-learning and some in-person. Our Mathcounts meetings were now on Zoom. The whole school

year was bumpy at first, but as everything started to settle down, and we made the transition back

to in-person school, I started maturing more than ever. Mr. Hilburn continued to explain topics

thoroughly and would even help us individually. He would also occasionally give life lessons to

my friends and me, which were much appreciated. He helped all of us grow and take

responsibility for our actions and future. Even after my friends and I moved on to high school,

we still talked to Mr. Hilburn and kept in touch. That year I made it to the State Mathcounts

competition, a great advancement. Mr. Hilburn’s kindness and guidance set me up for future

success as well and I advanced to high school.

High school has personally gone well so far. I have been happy about my success in

education to this point and intend to keep it like that. I did have to face teachers who thought it
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was better to give online notes, videos, or a packet as classwork than to teach the material in a

way that we remember it. Besides that, in my sophomore year, two teachers, Mrs. Howard and

Ms. Chase did a great job at teaching. Mrs. Howard, my Math 3 teacher, wrote notes out on a

whiteboard and went through how to solve the different problems we encountered in Math 3. She

also advised on a ton of points that we should consider as young adults, including college and

career planning, life goals, organizing schedules, and being a more responsible person. She was

very inspirational, to say the least. Ms. Chase, my English 2 teacher, made a decent writer out of

me. I was not the best writer until I took her class. Her grading policies were harsh, but we were

allowed revisions after she reviewed our work. The feedback she gave was a guiding light

towards success in her class. Remembering all the writing tips she gave us pushed me to go the

extra step in my papers. She is currently my AP Language and Composition teacher and is doing

an astounding job at improving my writing and thought process.

Overall, my educational journey has truly been a ladder to happiness. Reflecting on my

successes, and even my failures, has molded me into the person I am today. Even though

schoolwork occasionally seemed challenging, a few great teachers supported me in learning,

maturing, and getting through school. I have learned the importance of extracting enjoyment

from success to keep moving forward in life. I will never forget the people and experiences that

have made me feel successful and spirited in school.