Kelsey Bhola was born and raised in the US Virgin Islands. She is a senior at the Good Hope Country Day School. In her essay, she shares her thoughts on hard work and why having a reason bigger than yourself can make working hard easier.

In this world, working hard is a necessary evil to attain success. But as the name implies, working hard is no easy feat. We all go through phases where it’s hard to work at peak efficiency because it feels as though there is nothing more that you could possibly give or because the motivation is just not there. It is completely natural not to have the drive to work hard at all times or to get tired of working because your efforts seem to be in vain. After all, we all need a break at some time or another. However, the key to getting back on track is reminding yourself of why you’re doing what you’re doing. I believe that working hard is less difficult when you’re doing it for a reason bigger than yourself.

When I went to the JSA Summer School at Stanford University in 2018, there was a guest speaker who came and talked to us about her career in politics and important lessons she had learned. In her speech, she talked about beating the odds and making it into Stanford University. She told us that she was from a small town and did not have all that much growing up, but that she made the most of what she did have. She said that the beginning of her time at Stanford was exceedingly difficult for a multitude of reasons, but that in times when she felt like quitting, she reminded herself that she was not just doing this hard work for herself. She was doing it for her family, for the people in her small town, and for everyone that believed in her. Her lesson was to remind yourself of a reason bigger than yourself that motivates you to work hard. That stuck with me, not because it was a new, groundbreaking concept, but because it was a reminder to be more mindful of my motivation for working as hard as I do to ensure that I have the drive to continue.

I have many reasons to keep working hard, but the one reason that has continually motivated me, even in the toughest of times, is my grandmother. I distinctly remember one night, where we sat on my grandmother’s front porch for hours and just talked. She told me about her parents’ emigration from India, her mother dying when she was very young, her stepmother pulling her out of school in the first grade, her arranged marriage at age fifteen, and other defining moments in her life. I was in complete awe of her. My grandmother and I used to talk on the phone at least once every day. And every day without fail, she gave me the same advice: never take your education for granted and never stop working hard.

My grandmother passed away in 2014. Although I cannot talk to her anymore, her words stuck with me and still do to this day. When things get difficult, I remember that I am pursuing a quality education for more than just myself. I am doing it for myself, my grandmother, and everyone who believed in me and made countless sacrifices to get me to where I am today. I am determined to achieve what my grandmother never had the chance to, and for her, I will never stop working hard.