Someone Who Influenced Me
When I was in the seventh grade my teacher (who will remain un-named) predicted I would be in prison by the time I was 20 years old. Her negative comment has had only a positive influence on me. Since that time, I have been determined to prove her wrong. I do not have, and never have had, a criminal record. Indeed, I have had only one traffic ticket. My grades steadily improved through high school. I graduated from high school in only three years, at the age of 16, because I worked very hard in a self-paced learning program at my high school. Through that program I learned to study from books and learn material through my own efforts, without a lecture from a teacher. When I graduated, one of my teachers predicted that I would be a success in international business - a very different prediction from when I was 12 years old Being told that I was going to go to prison really resonated with me. I thought about it constantly, and I thought about my actions and previous actions. I then grew angry about it a few weeks later, and decided to prove her wrong. I started to try in school rather than coasting on my natural intelligence. My grades improved to the point that I made an A in my seventh grade teacher’s class. Throughout the rest of middle school and high school, I have been driven to prove that teacher wrong. All of my hard work seems to have paid off because I was able to graduate in three