Ambition trumps Doubt

I was six years old when I sat in the back of Mrs. Fisher’s second grade class, fighting my tears back with every ounce of my body. Amanda’s words repeated themselves dramatically within my head, and I couldn’t silence them. “How did you skip the first grade if you don’t even know what ten times ten is? Every other kid in here knows that. You’re so stupid.”

The excitement that my mother had convinced me of this morning now seemed like nothing more than a malicious attempt to trick me into coming here. I knew skipping the first grade was too much to handle. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t even want to try.

Eleven years later, insensitive blows to my self-esteem still make an appearance quite frequently. I can recall several incidences when my ninth grade chemistry teacher told me I just “didn’t get it”. I can remember one of my best friends claiming that I couldn’t beat her SAT score, no matter how many times I took the test. I can even recite countless conversations with my own family in which they insisted on doubting my abilities.

Just last month, I sat my father down to give him an eager explanation about my dream to attend the University of Maryland and become a dentist. I described to him the courses I needed to take, my hopes of transferring from my current university, and my plans for after dental school. In return, I received a condescending chuckle, a pathetic pat on the back, and a “Ha, that’s hard work, Lis. Good luck with that.”

If my academic experiences have taught me anything more than just “the facts”, it is that motivation must come from within. I believe that the most important concept I had to grasp was how to take that useless, defeated, waste of a second grader, and transform her into a tenacious, hardworking, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer kind of girl. Once I learned how to become that girl, I taught myself to push through every obstacle, every endless research paper, every impossible exam, and every late night studying until my body would no longer allow it. Ultimately, I learned to disregard those who don’t believe I can succeed.

To this very day, one of my strongest beliefs is that anyone can do anything, regardless of those who doubt them. It may not be easy, but I truly believe that anything is possible if you push yourself and set your mind to it. Ambition trumps doubt, any day of the week.

Now, I’m going to become a dentist, and I don’t give a d*** what anyone has to say about it.