"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" – Thomas Edison. I had to fight to get to where I am today, and there were times when I thought I wouldn't make it to my senior year of high school. For some, my life would almost replicate the site of a natural disaster. I broke my arm last October and had to have reconstructive surgery, everything academically fell out from under me. After having surgery on my arm I repeatedly skipped school for occupational therapy, which is a form of physical therapy. Besides, I had just gotten my job back at Arby's. By November I was working 20 to 35 hours a week with school, a broken arm, and OT. I didn't have time for anything, not even to sleep. When I was in school I could barely keep my eyes open, it eventually got to the point that when I could attend a full day of school I would sleep through some lessons so I wouldn't fall asleep at work that night. I've worked harder in this last year just to make it, than I have in the last four years to keep my grades up. Now I work every night and my arm is a little better healed than when I started working, but I still have limits on what I can do as a human being. In this essay I will cover these three main points; the most important thing I learned in high school, why the scholarship will make a difference in my educational goals, and how I hope to make a difference in the community with my career. First of all, I would like to discuss what I believe the most important thing I have learned during my high school career is. I have learned many things in the last four years, from the lessons taught... middle of paper... a special person, because not everyone can handle twenty or more teenagers at a time, but I believe I have the right amount of kindness and patience to do it. From work to school and back, I have overcome many obstacles in my life. Some of these obstacles have been more problematic than others, yet I have always emerged victorious. I hope to continue this way and help future generations learn to deal with life's obstacles that lie ahead. I firmly believe that the more I open up to the world, the easier it will become to help others improve themselves. If I could only make a difference in one student's life, I would have achieved my goal. I can only imagine the possibilities of the future, but I know they will be great. “Success must be measured not so much by the position achieved in life but by the obstacles one has overcome.” –Booker T. Washington