Academic Background
In my family, we have always valued academic success. From my grandparents to my parents, there is the belief that how well you do in school can essentially predict how well you will do in life. Although it holds true to some degree, I also believe that other experiences, interests, and especially ambition is what ultimately drives a person to do well. And those are all important, but I still believe in academics a little bit more. This leads me to my story of my most proudest moment in my life.
I went to Belmar Elementary School for elementary and middle school. It wasn’t until middle school that I started to care more about grades because previously there wasn’t the pressure of getting into a good high school. From there, I maintained good grades in all my classes. As for my high school, I went to Manasquan High School and got straight A’s in all my classes for all the years.
Unexpectedly a Valedictorian
I have gone through many different situations in life – some mundane and some eye-opening – and what I have found out is that sometimes the most special moments are when you least expect them. I have had my fair share of accomplishments, but none of it beat the time I was awarded a plaque for the highest grade point average (GPA) in my middle school.
It was graduation night. Families of all the students were sitting in the crowd. We were up on stage wearing our white and green gowns to represent our school colors. After finishing my closing speech for the ceremony, we received our diplomas, signifying we have officially graduated from our middle school where lots of our early memories were held. Once the diplomas were all handed out, our principal made an announcement that it was time for the awards. The awards ranged from arts, mathematics, history, language, sports, and more. There were a total of 55 students in my class, so that meant there were 55 people who had their own talents and strengths.
In the beginning, my name wasn’t called, and with each passing plaque, I started losing hope that there would be anything for me. Until my principal called out my name for the Social Studies award, which was given to the student who had the highest grade in Social Studies. I had a rival where we would both compete with each other in everything. We always respected each other and it was never really to outshine the other, but to push each other to give it our most. At that point, she had received four awards while I had only gotten one. From those awards, she had the highest grades in various subjects, so when it came to the award for highest GPA in our grade, I knew she would get it.
But unexpectedly, my name was called. In that moment, I froze for a slight second because I was in disbelief. I believed she would’ve been the one to receive it, but when my name was spoken into the microphone, I had never felt more proud of myself in my whole life. It was a moment I remember vividly, and it was a moment I will cherish forever.
Ranking Top 10
In high school, I strived for the best in my classes. I understood lessons, and for the concepts I didn’t understand, I would seek out explanations. During our graduation, we had a class of close to 300 students. We wore blue and white gowns to represent our school colors. We were also given blue and white tassels to attach to our caps. But there were only ten golden tassels given to students ranked at the Top 10 for highest GPAs. I ranked number 7, and although I was not the Valedictorian for my class, I considered this my second most proudest moment when it comes to my academics. I had a 4.0 GPA along with the other Top 10 students. And I loved the feeling of getting to share the spotlight with my fellow peers.
People all have different moments they love the most, and for me, even though it was MY most proudest moment, I also cherish the fact that it was my parents’ most proudest moment of me too.
Karen Li 