I remember when I was a teenager, I was driving in the car with mom one day and she said, "I think you're going to do really well on the ACT.""Really?" I said. "Why's that?" "I don't know," she replied. "I just have a feeling that you'll do well. I think you're really smart and some people are just better at taking tests and it just seem like one of those people."
Up to that point, I hadn't really cared that much about grades. I had focused a lot more on extracurricular activities, work, and hanging out with friends.
When I finally took the ACT, I completely knocked it out of the park. Well, actually, scoring in the 69th percentile was more like a slow grounder to the pitcher's mound. Undeterred, I studied hard and took it again—and landed in the 80th percentile...which was somehow enough to get me into BYU.
My mom was wrong.
My performance on the ACT was little more than mediocre. But her words of encouragement and unwavering belief in me awakened something inside that has been running around ever since. One undergraduate degree, two graduate degrees, and two GMAT scores later, I can proudly say that I would never have made it this far without my mom's encouragement and support.
Love you mom. And even though I'm done collecting degrees, I hope that I can pass your unconquerable optimism onto my children.
-Johnny
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