Grit Definition Essay

Of the multitude of factors that contribute to academic success, many of the most important attributes are out of the student's control. For example, socioeconomic background and poverty rate play a direct role in high school graduation rates, and race and ethnicity can often indicate a child's success in school. For example In the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof, delicately investigates why Asian-Americans are disproportionately successful compared to ‘equally gifted’ students. He concludes that culture and bias play a big factor. But another factor is contributing as well, one which is a learned trait rather than an inherent quality.
Grit is a large factor in how well a student will do in college. Grit is defined as “ability combined with zeal and with capacity for hard labour.” Or, in other words, grit is the ability to endure embarrassment, pain, and work through challenges. Grit is perhaps the most useful tool for any college student: according to Angela L. Duckworth in her paper on grit, possessing grit leads to people …show more content…
The research I looked at suggests that success in college, academically, is a healthy mixture of the world you were born into and the way you handle challenges. The methods and factors mentioned above do contribute to success as measured by grades, as well as success after college in professional careers (Grit and ethnicity play a large role in the overall professional success of the individual: where grit can lead to sticktoitness and ethnicity can lead to unfair bias in the workplace). It would seem that grit and personal health are some of the best methods for those forms of success, but what about emotional health, self awareness, and healthy social connections, success measured in happiness rather than statistics? Those qualities might not align with the grades received in college, but they may contribute to a meaningful college life: academic or