Pictured above are coffee beans. The coffee bean is representative not only of my appreciation and frequent consumption of coffee, but also of an assignment I received in high school requiring me to write a ten-page research paper that would account for a very large portion of our final grade in the class. With a lot already on my plate at the time, the assignment seemed very daunting and stressful. Luckily, my teacher allowed us students to choose the topic of our papers; I chose to write about the health benefits of coffee.
I am including the coffee bean and the experience of writing the paper that accompanies it because the assignment taught me much more than just how coffee can be beneficial. The thing I learned from the assignment that proved most significant is that I must try to pursue my true interests. Because I enjoy coffee and found my research on the subject very interesting, my paper turned out to actually be sixteen pages and is the piece of work of which I am most proud.
While it is true that I spent many long hours working on that piece and put in a huge amount of work, I know that I would not have executed half as well if I had been working on a piece centered around something I did not enjoy. The paper is also a reminder that hard work and dedication pay off as well. Researching and writing my piece required sacrifices but the end result proved to me that I need to take my work seriously and try to be the best I can so that when I continue on with school and enter the work force later in life I will be able to apply those skills and achieve my dreams.