Rainey Townsend '18 Recruiting Profile

Many have strived to find the secret to flourishing throughout various endeavours and the answer is simple. It is determination. With enough determination, it does not matter how much talent or luck a person is born with because you can accomplish anything through ample hard work. Determination can be applied to anything you do, from playing tennis to making it to school on time.  Unfortunately, determination is not a skill that comes naturally, and I have had to work hard in order to acquire it.

When I was younger, if I was not good at a sport, I would immediately lose interest and quit. There came a time in my life when I had a switch in mindset. If someone is bad at something, there is no way that person will ever get better without practice.

Now I believe the things people are naturally good ar can only get so far in that skill or sport without effort. So now, I have done away with the word “talent” from my vocabulary. There are other, more precise adjectives that can be used to emphasize the person’s time and energy put forth to enhance themselves. When someone starts a new skill, they are bound to be bad. They would have to morphe themselves into something better through time.

My sophomore year, I let my grades drop. I had easily earned all A’s and I assumed it would always be easy, so of course I tested my theory by slacking off. Suddenly I had grades that were not great. I was not so focused on good or bad grades, but what really upset me was that I was lost in my classes. Last year, I looked over the grade I received on a project, and I had an epiphany moment. It occurred to me that my grade was directly related to the combination of effort put forth and time invested on that assignment. I was determined to change my grades. Now, armed with this realization, I put adequate time aside to study and I understand the information in my courses of study.