Necessary Qualities of an English Student

To be successful in English 100 a student must be determined, articulate, and disciplined, without determination all other qualities seem minimal because the “want” to succeed is applicable to anything in life. Also without being able to articulate thoughts, experiences, and opinions is essential for clear communication. Discipline ties both qualities together creating the ideal student. All three qualities are very important in my life and are the deciding factor on how I spend my day. Keeping myself determined and driven towards long term and short term goals usually regulates my attitude, and also the actions I take during the day. Social media is a way that in my daily life I am able to articulate my opinions and share events that have taken place, although not consistently grammatically correct it is still an outlet. Discipline is a constant uphill battle, but through my determination I am able to maintain and accomplish things such as making revisions after revision to an essay.

As every college student should I have determination not only to pass, but also to excel at everything I put my mind to. This attitude has come to help me. When I was studying for my national registry to become an EMT, I did not understand much of the subject matter. However putting in extra time studying ultimately paid off in the end when I passed the exam on the first attempt. Ruck marches are another example of my determination. For example, walking for 14 or more miles with a bag on that contains heavy gear, and wearing body armor is no easy task. One of the worst experiences I ever ha was a 16km march over what seemed to be the most hill ridden part of Oklahoma, this is not the worst part of the march.

The worst part is the amount of time spent making sure not to walk to close to the person in front, and not fall to far behind creating gaps in the formation that is certainly not accepted by the superiors marching in the middle of the formation, and watching like circling vulchers over head for someone to speak and ruin the tactical nature of the march, giving the drill sergeants a reason to come up with a creative new way to punish the person who was talking. I believe that simply trying can make up for shortcomings or lack of ability. This does not make me a perfect student, but has given me an advantage as a person. Knowing that motivation and knowledge that with every challenge comes an opportunity to better myself in a way that would be impossible without that challenge.

The ideal English 100 student should also articulate and his or her point of view. Not being able to explain oneself and their point of view it would make any essay quite bland and confusing. One of the classes I took in high school was Mythology and Folklore. Although not many writing assignments were required in the class, the tests at the end of every story had an essay question asking the student for an explanation. Good articulation is important because the student must recall what was read and rewrite what happened in his or her own words.

Discipline is a valuable quality, whether applied to studying habits or forcing yourself to focus while writing an essay. Discipline is essential for study habits necessary to completing any work. I have ADHD so maintaining discipline when it comes to schoolwork has always been challenging for me. I have used discipline in earlier English classes I took in high school. For example, the weekly vocabulary assignments in my English II forced me to write each definition three times for each of the fifteen words. This was an especially demanding task for an individual who has a hard time focusing for fifteen minutes at a time, but the discipline I had to make sure I finished it in one sitting ultimately prevailed. Discipline also ensured that I did not turn in any half complete homework assignments. One of the things that impressed discipline upon me more than anything was learning how to stand completely still in basic training.

Formations are held before and after every event in a day. Having an attention disorder made it more complicated for me than others in my platoon, and while learning to look away, not move my hands, and a plethora of other things that got me put in the front leaning rest position which for civilians is the push up position. My drill sergeant told me constantly that “A hard head makes for a soft ass” meaning if I continued to slip up. The Drill Sergeant would continue to give me extra attention. Through this trial of my mental and physical capabilities I adapted and became a much more disciplined individual. Determination, articulation, and discipline are the most important factors for being a successful English 100 student. These qualities have also helped me to accomplish my goals in the past whether it be studying for an important registration exam, or something as mindless and boring as writing multiple definitions for vocabulary words. Understanding these skills and learning how to master them will help to push to achieve higher goals in the future.