Persisting

= Persisting  =

Do you sometimes say, "I just can't do this," or, "This is too hard?" Balancing equations was one topic that almost made me say, "I give up." But I kept striving to learn and be persistent and stick to each question until I have solved it to my best ability. In my case, Balancing equations is the perfect example of "persisting." In the beginning of class, balancing equations seemed to be quite a simple topic with a little use of mathematics and common knowledge, however, once the class progressed, so did the difficulty of questions. I was taking sometimes five minutes just to solve simple questions. But it wasn't until after I had solved the question where I thought back and said to myself, "Wow, how did I not think of that before?!" Balancing equations can be a lot of work and require complete concentration but most importantly, persistence. The following picture is a picture of classwork that was handed out during our balancing equations topic. This worksheet was the first assignment we were given, and as seen from the lack of eraser markings, or extra ink used, the questions in the beginning were relativity easy. However, continuing down the worksheet, the questions became harder and harder, and the amount of thought became more and more. I began writing more and erasing more, and even drew question marks. Needless to say, I kept solving each problem as best I could. Although there were times were I did want to give up, I kept persisting and solved each question.

Looking at the numbers used while balancing the equations, they began to increase, especially to a mind blowing 17 which I finally found after hard work and persistence. From this evaluation of my thought processing and persistence, I realized it is not only important to be persistent while balancing equations, but also in all life situations and problems. We need to be persistent with everything, and should not give up, not matter what the situation may be. Whether it be balancing equations, doing homework, or writing college applications, we all need to be persistent and achieve the best we can achieve, and disregard saying "I can't do it," to say, "I CAN and I WILL do it.