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Rudra Solanki

Professor Williams

English 111

December 13, 2023

Educational Success: Ladder to Happiness? (Revised Version)

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

This quote by Carnegie signifies that true happiness is felt when you appreciate achievements

and celebrate them. Throughout my entire life, my educational goal has been to achieve success

by any means. 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. After all, true learning happens when you enjoy it. My early schooling

was interrupted by my family moving between countries. Individuals I encountered in my school

life 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 II

teacher, and Mrs. Howard, my Math III teacher.

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

home country. The following few years were quite complex, as I only attended school for

approximately a year before I moved to the United States; however, I had already learned how to

read and write. During my time 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. At the moment that I

began attending the K-12 School that I currently study at, I was still five. At first, the school said
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I could not begin 1st grade because I was younger than the other children and had not properly

finished Kindergarten. However, after my mother insisted that I was capable, I was allowed to

take a test to prove my abilities. I ultimately did well; the true journey began after my first

success.

Elementary school was uneventful for me until I reached 3rd grade. I encountered one of

the best teachers I could ever ask for; this event was undoubtedly what I needed to light a spark

in my educational endeavors. Mrs. Smith introduced me to reading “harder” books. After that, I

began reading and falling in love with young adult fiction novels. I sort of went on a reading

spree, reading through the entire Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series, and even some of

the Harry Potter books, which were nearly 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 rather 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 assisting me in maintaining

satisfaction and allowing me to be carefree for the next few years.

As I finished elementary school, it was now time for middle school. I initially held high

hopes, but instead, 6th grade went by quickly, and I did not learn much. School started to become

dull and tedious. I only 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 not until 7th grade that my interest in education began to rise again. My English

and social studies classes were enjoyable. The most significant event was joining the Mathcounts
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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 at the time were all new to me. Math had started to bore me, but his teaching

methods were intriguing and fun. Our group spent months preparing for the local Mathcounts

competition until soon it was time to compete. When the competition was over, the results

stunned me. Through hard work and perseverance, turns out I achieved 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 let me understand that math makes me happy, especially

when I find success through it.

Then the pandemic began…and life changed for a lot of us. Since then, we had to learn

from home, which was not terrific. My home environment was not always the most suitable

place to study due to how my mind familiarized the place as being for relaxation. Nevertheless,

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

would have if I did not have to be at home during Quarantine. As I soon reached 8th grade, Mr.

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

being e-learning and some in-person and our Mathcounts meetings were now on Zoom. Despite

the whole school year being bumpy at first, 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 teach

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
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Mathcounts competition, a great advancement in my educational endeavor. Furthermore, Mr.

Hilburn’s kindness and guidance set me up for future success as I advanced to high school.

As of where I currently stand today, high school has personally gone well so far, as I

retain comfort and happiness about my success in education to this point. I intend to keep it this

way, even though I did have to face teachers who thought it 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, there were two teachers, Mrs. Howard and Ms. Chase, who I felt did

a great job at teaching. Mrs. Howard, my Math III teacher, wrote notes out on a whiteboard and

went through how to solve the different problems we encountered in Math III. 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 II 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, overall helping my development of critical thinking skills, which last a

lifetime. Ms. Chase 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
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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.