Describe a success you have had when you were young.
You should say:
- what it was and when it happened
- why you chose this area of activity
- how easy or difficult it was to achieve
and explain how important this success was for you.
Sample Answer 1
This is an exciting topic because it has forced me to redefine success. Was I ever really successful as a young person? Well, I can’t think of many successes I enjoyed as a young person except just a few. Today, I would like to share with you one such success story.
Anyway, to tell the story, as a young person, especially in my early high school days, I just loved eating all kinds of cakes. I was eating those cakes, especially the chocolate ones, and wondering how people could make such wonderful and delicious cakes!
Sometimes, I even used to ask myself if I would also ever be able to bake such delicious cakes one day while also giving it a try at my home at times despite the vehement objection of my mother. By the way, her strong opposition to my cake-baking venture was not misplaced because every time I used to try baking a cake in her kitchen, I would make a complete mess out of her whole kitchen.
Then, one day, I decided to enrol at a culinary school to learn about cake baking. Initially, my parents just laughed off my idea because they thought it would be a waste of time. But, I was adamant about perfect cake-baking learning techniques and skills. Finally, after attending culinary school for a good 6 weeks, I became a champion in a cake-baking competition organized by the institute. Of course, it wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed every minute of the competition and the associated success.
This success was significant for me because it was a great confidence booster for an average student like me. In fact, after that success, I felt that I could do much better at my school. Besides, it also gave me an idea of how to become a successful entrepreneur because, after finishing university, I started a small business and continued my full-time job.
Sample Answer 2
The success I think I am proud of is my outstanding performance in the board final exam that I attended many years ago. I was the top scorer in our locality, and because of that, I was congratulated by many. It was such an important event that this success story was reported in a local newspaper.
It was the year 2008 (…say a year that suits you…) when I passed the school board final exam. I can’t recall the exact month the result was published, but that would be either January or February.
Since this “success” or “achievement” was a part of my academic performance and not related to any extracurricular activity, I would say it happened naturally, and I had no involvement in choosing it. Studying is just a natural course of action for young students, who perform well when they study well. So, if someone achieves success in photography or arts, she or he has some story about how and why she or he came to photography or arts, what the motivation was and how she or he got the success. But for me, it was an academic success, and I did not have to choose anything or do something unique. I just needed to study attentively.
I followed a study routine for a couple of years, which helped me achieve this success. I would say that it was easy to achieve as I followed a planned routine, and I enjoyed reading my academic lessons. I have devoted a great deal of time to reading academic books, reference books, and different magazines related to subjects, taking notes, doing group discussions and other activities, and all those activities helped me achieve this success.
This was a critical success as it inspired me to do better in my future academic years. This success taught me that if I studied hard, my hard work would be rewarded accordingly, and I would be in a better position in the future. Thus this success inspired me to do better academically.