My Passion For History

History has always been one of my passions. Entering high school, my goal was to get a 5 on one of the AP tests for history. When the opportunity came, I took my first AP class, AP European History, and I studied away.

My grades in the class looked promising, I excelled at the writing and multiple choice portions of the practice tests we took during class. All seemed well until the big test came in May. My teacher told the class that we should not take the make-up test later in the month but instead take the test on the regular test day, regardless if we were sick or not. And just my luck, I was sick on testing day! Not wanting to disappoint my teacher, I took the test while completely ill. All of my studying and hard work paid off because I passed… with a 3. I was devastated. The elusive 5 was taunting me. But I did have a second chance. A time of redemption, which was the AP US History test.

One of the biggest struggles in my junior year was my AP US History class. The workload in that class, combined with the rigorous schedule of other AP and IB courses, plus sports, and the occasional meetings of the debate team made it a real challenge to follow my passion.

Second semester, I finally succumbed to the pressure, I did the unthinkable.

I switched into regular US History. The 5 bested me, or so it seemed, but I wasn’t ready to give up on my goal that I set out to do when I entered high school. With an AP US History review book in hand, I was able to continue studying for the big test while still managing the rest of my classes, sport and meetings. The big day arrived. I entered the auditorium with a disadvantage of not having an extra semester’s worth of material completely covered, but none the less I still took the test, and left it feeling proud of myself for not giving up. This test was my second chance to get a 5, and I was going to use that chance as best I

could.
Then came the wait. To pass the time, I traveled the Pacific Northwest with my grandparents though Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. One day, as we were driving through the bustling city of Seattle, I was able to get access to my scores. A surge of ecstasy came to me when I found out that I got a 5 on the test. I DID IT! Despite the odds of having to switch into the regular class and study on my own, I had persevered and accomplished something I really wanted. From this whole experience, I have learned that I am tenacious and willing to carry out any goal that I set to mind, regardless of the obstacles that are placed in front of me.