Ryan Walters

Ms. Jessica Yates

Pre-AP English II

20 December 2016

Enlightened by Hard Work

December, 2015. 8:45 A.M. Biology Final Exam

“You may begin.” Immediately, sweat started pouring down my face and my heart started

pounding. Butterflies were fluttering all around my stomach. My mind started racing; I could

hear my dad’s voice in the back of my head, “Hard work is the key to success.” I could hear little

Johnny’s voice. “Maybe try to work harder.” And boy, had I ever worked hard, but for now, I

had to focus on one number, and one number only, 92.

August 2015. Second Week of School. Biology Class

“Quiet class! I am now going to pass back your first test.” my not so pleasant or pleasantly

looking Biology teacher, Ms. Taylor, announced.

Oh crap! I hope I did well on that test. I didn’t study for it, but I didn’t study for tests in

middle school, and I still made all A’s. Placed in the back because of my last name, she would

hand me my test last. As she walked towards me, and ugly scowl appeared on her face, almost as

if she was disgusted by my entire existence. She slowly placed the test on my desk, face down.

This could not be good; it’s never good when a teacher puts your test face down. As I went to

pick it up, my leg started nervously shaking.

“RYAN!” A booming, angry voice startled me, so much that I almost leapt out of my seat.

Paralyzed by fear, I somehow managed to squeak out a, “yes ma’am.” Her mere presence,

was enough to make a 9th grader to want to cry for his mommy, and that’s exactly what I wanted
to do. I tried to look her in the eyes, like my parents had taught me, but it was impossible. Not

impossible because I was so afraid, but physically impossible. Ms. Taylor had a lazy eye, or

perhaps two, I’m not really sure, which only added to her imposing presence.

“You need to better.” Her deep, almost manly voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Yes ma’am,” I said. But as she was walking away, I was silently cursing her out. No dip

sherlock, of course I need to do better. I got a frickin 58. “Want to teach better Ms. Taylor?” I

accidentally spoke my thoughts aloud.

“Maybe try working harder next time. It’s not the teacher, see.” little Jimmy, a puny, nerdy

kid who is always getting bullied, showed me his 100 on the test, and I silently cursed him too.

“Shut up little Jimmy or I’ll throw you in another trash can. Hard work won’t do crap for

you,” my rather physically mature friend, Ben, threatened. I agreed with Ben. I knew I did not

need to work hard to get good grades, because in middle school I didn’t need to work hard to get

good grade.

November 2007

I was awoken by squeaky door opening and the sound of work boots pounding. I opened

my eyes, and looked at the clock… I couldn’t read it, as we had just learned how to read clocks a

couple weeks ago, but I could tell the small hand was on 10. Why was my Dad getting home so

late? There was no going back to sleep now, so I rubbed my eyes and climbed out of bed. My

awesome cars bedroom shoes made a “Thump!Thump!” noise, similar to Frosty going over the

hill, as I slowly crept down the stairs. At the sight of my alpha-alpha like hair and handsome

face, a smile crossed my dad’s face.

“What are you doing down here little guy? You were supposed to be in bed hours ago,” he

stated as he reached down to effortlessly pick me up and place me on his lap.

 “Sorry daddy, but you woke me up and couldn’t go back to sleep. Why were you out so

wate?”

He rustled my hair and smirked at my slight mispronunciation. Always eager to deliver

some sort of life lesson, he read me a poem,

“Hard Work is the Key.

If you wanna build a tree,

Hard work is the key.

If you wanna be the Queen Bee,

Hard Work is the Key.

If you want to succeed in Biology,

Hard Work is the Key

If you want to conquer the sea,

Hard Work is the Key.

When you learned how to pee,

Hard work was the Key.

Do you see now

Why hard work is the key?”

I nodded my head as if my 6 year old, half-asleep brain could comprehend all this mumbo-

jumbo, and then, I nodded off right in his lap.

December, 2015. 9:31 A.M. Biology Final Exam

Question 49, “What is the powerhouse of the cell?” Goodness, this question is easy. If only

I had a dollar for every time I’d heard this question.. I felt a tugging at my shirt, similar to a

toddler tugging on their mom’s leg. I looked next to me, to find the face of a very concerned
Little Jimmy. He pointed to his watch, which said 9:31… WAIT! 9:31! That means I have to do

30 questions in 15 minutes. 30 QUESTIONS IN 15 MINUTES! Uh-oh….

August, 2015. Family Dinner.

“You mean to tell me you got a 58 on your Biology test?” my dad inquired.. He was not

used to me making these grades, and quite frankly, neither was I. All throughout middle school I

had made all A’s, but high school was a whole different ballgame.

“I don’t know what I can do. I’m trying my best.” I lamely tried to state my case, knowing

full well that not everything I stated was 100% true.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. I’ll tell you what you need to do. You need to work

harder. Hard work is the biggest key to success in life, and it will be the key to success in your

Biology class.”

December, 2015. 9:35 A.M. Biology Final Exam

Question 57.. 11 minutes left. Time is ticking. I don’t think I’m going to finish. All my

hard work is going to go to waste because I can’t answer all the questions in time. I cannot let

that happen. I will not let that happen.

August, 2015. Family Dinner.

Anger coursed through my veins, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up; I

was tired of hearing about all of this hard work bull crap. I was infuriated that I screamed, “Hard

work is not the key to jack squat.” I could feel the walls shaking from the power of my voice.

Tears of anger slowly welled up in my eyes.

When I looked up, my dad’s eyes, thick with anger, were staring deep into my soul.

Almost as if he was deciding if I was really worthy of being his son. I didn’t care though, I was

pissed of. And then he yelled, “Go to your room!”

 Now, I was really pissed off. God, I hate being treated like a five year old. I felt a rush of

anger surge through my body. I threw my chair down like John Cena, flipped my father the bird,

and then ran upstairs to my room and locked the door. I checked my phone to see a text from

Ben,“You got it bro hard work is not what u need.” Throughout everything in life, Ben is always

there for me. At least I got my boy Ben ; I know I can always count on him.

December, 2015. 9:44 A.M. Biology Final Exam

Question 77.. One minute left. “What did Charles Darwin discover?” My brow furrowed.

Beads of sweat started trickling down onto my test booklet. I forgot! How could I forget? I

guessed A, and looked at the clock.. 45 SECONDS!

August, 2015. My room.

Although hard for me to admit, the more I thought about the exchange with my father, the

more I became convinced that he was right. I thought about how much Ben really knows. After

all, Ben did get a 49 on his test. Should I be listening to him, or Little Jimmy, who got a 100 on

his test? Ben claimed that I shouldn’t work hard, but he got a 49 on his test, which really forces

me to question the effectiveness of his ways. In stark contrast, Little Jimmy claimed that I should

work hard, and he got a 100 on his test.

December, 2015. 9:44 A.M. Biology Final Exam

Question 80.. 5 seconds. Last question. “What are the major differences between

prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?” I quickly bubbled in C. That was easy.My thoughts were

interrupted by Ms. Taylor’s booming voice, “TIMES UP! Pencils down!” I had done the

unthinkable. 30 questions in 15 minutes, I had completed the impossible. My mind quickly

turned to how well I thought I did. I had finished, but that was only half the battle. I still needed a

92 to get an A. If not, then I would receive my first ever B.

 August, 2015. My room.

I slowly started to recall an exchange with my father from when I was younger. One day,

he was working late and when he came home he read me an odd poem. At the time, I couldn’t

really understand this poem. To be honest, I remember thinking the poem was complete

gibberish. However, it was one of those things that was so weird, that I just never forgot it. Now,

I can full comprehend and recall it. The poem was about how hard work is key to success. While

I could remember most of the poem, I knew I was missing an important line. It was like trying to

remember someone’s name. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn’t directly recall it.

And then it hit me, my aha moment. The Thomas Edison in me helped the lightbulb go off. In the

poem my Dad said, “If you want to succeed in Biology, hard work is the key.” I knew now that it

was destiny. It had been predetermined that I would learn how to work hard in Biology Class.

December, 2015.10:00 A.M. After the Biology Final Exam

“Quiet class! I am now going to pass back your final exam grades,” said Ms. Taylor.

Wow! This is the day that I have been waiting for. This is the day that I have been working so

hard for.

“Bruh, How you bout to get an A in here now?” Ben asked inquisitively.

“Ben, I’m telling you man. It’s all about hard work. Hard work is the key to success.”

“Nah bruh, you trippin.”

“You know I am right, Ben. And I am going to help you figure it out, just like Little

Jimmy and my dad did for me.”

“Whatever you say bruh.”

When I looked up from our conversation, Ms. Taylor was only half way around the room.

God, I hate being in the back. No matter what I get, I’m still going to be proud of myself. I have
learned a valuable lesson that I am going to use the rest of my life. Then, I saw Ms. Taylor begin

to approach me out the corner of my eye. As Ms. Taylor approached me, an ugly scowl appeared

upon her face. She slowly dropped the exam face down. Oh goodness! That’s never good. As I

went to turn it over, my legs started shaking nervously. I could hear the sound of my heart

pounding. “AANNTTTANNNTANNNT!” The fire alarms going

off!