My Work Ethic (And Why It Is What It Is Today...)

I've been asked quite a few times at univeristy now about my work ethic, how I've been able to maintain it and why my life is ruled by it so much. Just let me get one thing clear before I go on, my average day consists of normally around 4 hours of addtional study, more on the weekends. And although to some of you reading this might think "Rebecca! That's wonderful, why are you moaning about it!" Well, It's both one of my best and worst attributes, a double-edged sword, if you will.

So to begin, like every essay I ever wrote in Geography it is firstly important to define what is meant by the term "work ethic:" The Free Dictionary defines Work Ethic as "An ethical principle that places greatest value on hard work and diligence." So there we go, that's a pretty accurate representation of what my work ethic is, I believe that hard work and dilligence is what will get me somewhere in life. (However, that's on the premise that meritocraty is a real thing.) but sociolkogy aside, let's talk about why it's become something I put so much value on.

There are 3 incidences in my life that I can remember which caused me to develop this work ethic.Yes, people, it's time for another list.):

1) My Science Classes of 2007:

Ah, 2007, the year I started secondary school, although I wasn't particularly fond of my early secondary school years, my final two were absolutely fantastic (exams aside.) But in 2007 I began the KS3 Science curriculum, the basics, such as photosynthesis, respiration and how to cope with a teacher bullying you. Yes, I was bullied by a teacher, it does happen. Now, I knew from about the age of 9 I was going to pursue marine biology in my life and so therefore knew I had to do well in my sciences to get to where I wanted to be. This teacher decided to make snide remarks to me every lesson about how my work wasn't neat enough or my notes weren't up to scratch and then one day he told me that if I don't buck my ideas up, I'll never surmount to anything. If anyone here has graced eyes on my old school reports then it'll tell you that although my grades were mediocre in some areas, in others I excelled, such as in Geography, Science or R.S, so to hear a teacher tell me I would never amount to anything upset me so much (I was also 11 at the time.) I decided to prove himwrong, I spent hours preparing for tests and kept doing well, it was never good enough for that teacher and therefore it was never good enough to me, so that was the beginning of my work ethic and diminshed self-esteem.

2) GCSEs Results Day:

Flash forward to 2012, It was a warm day in August and I had just come back from Canada, ready to start my A levels in Biology, Geography, Sociology and Philosophy. But alas, I had only gotten a C in my double science GCSE (I had missed the grade by 3 marks.) and  I needed a B to my A level in biology. Instantly I shunned all my other results which had been fairly good for someone who had spent a few months wheelchair bound or in hospital. But in my mind I had yet again, worked my hardest and my grades just weren't good enough, another hit to my self-esteem. Also, doesn't help that I have probably picked up a perfectionist trait from my Dad (Love you though, Dad.)

3) The very start of sixth form:

I made a decision in Year 11 not to go to the local college (because the biology tutor said I'd never be able to do biology in a month of Sundays because my Maths grade wasn't high enough (it was a C) , proved her wrong.) But instead I went to a sixth form a train journey away because I wanted a fresh break and they were happy with my maths results. Of course, my GCSE grades weren't high enough to do Biology and I begged and pleaded the head of sixth form to give me a chance, he was having none of it, I was an outsider, he knew nothing about my background and wasn't going to risk the sixth form ratings. and the was the biggest kick up the arse of my life he told me "Change my dream, go and do an English A level instead, you were good at that at GCSE" You can imagine how that went down. So I set out to prove him wrong, the heads of biology gave me a chance, he allowed me to do one year of an applied science A Level and if I got a C or above he would let me do Bioogy, I did it, I got a B, and I did my biology A level.

So as you can see there have been a string of people throughout my life who have told me I would never make it nor would I ever succeed if I did. Admittedly, those who believed in me and supported me far outweigh those few who doubted me. That's why it rules my life, why I will do so many hours studying, why I will put so much pressure on myself to be the bets I can be because poeple have told me reaptedly at different stages of my life that I will never make it, so to complete my degree and to do so well, will finally put me at some peace. (I will also be scanning my final degree results and posting them to those people above.)

Now, as I said this work ethic is both a blessing and a curse. LEt's put this in a normal sceanrio, you've done some studying, maybe finished an essay or a piece of coursework and you go on a night out or go to the gym, or just do something fun that relaxes you, you enjoy it, you go to bed and feel great about yourself. That's not how it works for me, I will often bail on social activities for my studies because of the sheer amount of guilt I will feel for going out and the amount of anxiety I will feel the next day about missing those hours of studying. Trust me, It's not pleasant and it's not pretty.

Have a problem or have any questions then please tweet me @RebeccaByTheSea or comment below and I'll see what I can do. and congratulatiuons, you've made it to the end of this blog post. Gold Star for you!