As an only child my parents have had a large influence on the formation of my identity. When I was very young both of my parents were home with me. Even as I got older I was rarely left alone one of my parents was always home with me. I think this really instilled a lot of positive values in me and left little room for me to stray into bad behavior. Growing up one thing my parents really stressed was giving everything 110% and a strong work ethic. My mom always told me that I could do anything with “A Can-Do attitude.” I also was not allowed to skip practices or ever be absent from school. But, what really had the biggest influence on my work ethic was their motivation on getting straight A’s. Every time I came home with a perfect report card my Dad would give me 5 dollars. This started in elementary school and continued throughout high school. According to the North Shore Pediatric Therapy website utilizing positive reinforcement strategies is one of the best ways to encourage children.
This reminds me of Forest Gump, where his mom put a high value on Forest’s education and even slept with the principle so he can go to public school. She always wanted him to have the best life possible. After his surgery Forest was able to walk on his own; a famous quote from the movie is when Forest says "Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.” This is the same positive motivation my parents enforced in me.By the time I was in middle school straight A’s became a norm. By that time it was less about the 5 dollar reward, but more about making my parents proud and achieving a goal I set for myself also brought me much satisfaction. Every time my grades started to slip I found myself working harder to do my best. This shows how such a small reward strategy my parents set up has really shaped my work ethic.
When high school came around and my teachers, counselors, and coaches all emphasized the importance of high GPA’s for college admission I felt confident knowing I was capable of getting any grade I set my mind to. My parents told me when I was younger that if I wanted to go to college I would need to get scholarships on my own since they never saved up for me.
After so many years of maintain my parent’s original goal of straight A’s, it became my own. I would not accept anything less; I worked so hard and I did not want to let all that work go to waste at such a vital time. By the time senior year rolled around and everyone was cracking down on scholarship and college applications I saw that I was finally going to be rewarded for maintaining my long time goal. This really came in handy when ‘senioritis’ set in. Every time I felt myself slipping I caught myself enough to pull of A’s in the end. I know that if my parents never had such high expectation for me I definitely would not be where I am today. My high GPA allowed me to get private scholarships that covered my expenses for freshman year and get accepted into UF as well. To this day I see my parent’s influence carry through into my character. Now that I am in college it is difficult keeping the “can-do” attitude when the real world seems so daunting, but I know that through hard work and perseverance anything can be accomplished just as Forest Gump achieved so much because of his postive attitiude and work ethic.