Gabriella Mallory
$500 Scholarship Winner
Grade: 11
Trait: Compassion, Perseverance, and Courage
Teacher: Ross
Bradford Academy
“A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake it to stop trying.”
– B.F. Skinner
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
– Maya Angelou
“Without fear, we are able to see more clearly our connection to others. Without fear, we have more room for understanding and compassion. Without fear, we are truly free.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Growing up without my dad didn’t really phase me, but when he came back, everything changed. He was in the military and it changed him into a man I didn’t like. He was so demanding and negative about any and everything. With me being an over achiever, he was extremely hard on me. My grade in elementary and middle school were either A’s or B’s, but that still wasn’t enough for him. He has this ability to make the strongest people become one of the weakest.
Many times he could get into my head and make me want to give up on everything that I wanted to do with my life or myself. He would always tell me that I would never amount to anything because I wasn’t smart enough. Needless to say, my GPA never went below a 3.0, ever! All of my teachers told him that I was a great student and that my future looked very bright, my father took me for granted and I still tried to prove my greatness to him.
My desire in life is to become an Obstetrician Gynecologist and have a major in mortuary sciences. To my dad, all I will become is someone living off of welfare, doing nothing with my life. Many times I thought of quitting my dreams and dropping out of school just to please him. It felt like that’s all he wanted from me.
However, with me being who I am, stronger and wiser, I refuse to let him affect who I am and the goals I have set for myself. I know what I am capable of, and I know that if I put my mind to something it can and will be done. I’m compassionate about what I want to do with my future and whenever I fail I know that quitting will only prove him right. This is something I refuse to allow myself to amount to.