Fixed VS Growth Mindset

I belong to a working-class family. When I came to the United States, I was 19 years old. I started college as an international student, and it was really expensive for me. I started working on to pay the tuition fees. I still remember when I started my first job; I started as a part-time then slowly I started working long hours because I need to pay the tuition fee which was much more expensive than for the regular students. While working long hours, I was not able to perform well in my studies. For example, to a teenager, college days are so important and that is the time when a student begins to find themselves, decides which direction they want to go with their education. For me, it was totally different because as an international student I have to look after many things like my daily expenses so I have to work to pay my own bills which makes me way behind on my studies so I started spending more time on my studies when I’m at my college, interacting with the instructor in his office hours and tutoring helped me a lot and I find myself doing better on my studies. So, as a working-class student if we set our mind that we can do anything, then we will overcome that problem in any difficult situation and by doing that our confidence level will be increased. A good education is a key to success that can take anyone further in life than just having a job for a certain period of time. Thus, will have greater opportunities to find new jobs. With the help of education, we can be whatever we want to be in life.

Carols Dweck is a Professor of Psychologist at Stanford University. She is a researcher in the field of student's motivation. She states that mindset is a different belief or idea. The fixed mindset is believed that intelligence is fixed, and each person has a certain amount. Growth mindset is believed that intelligence can be cultivated through effort and hard work. In the article, "Brainology", research is straightforward Carlo Dweck states, "Those with a growth mindset believe that intelligence is something that can be developed" (Dweck). It means that if you work hard and put effort, anyone can accomplish their goal in any part of the world and able to learn the culture and tradition of another country. For example, all the seventh-grade students were given the same challenges, the group of students with the fixed mindset didn't work hard even though they weren't good at their studies and couldn't go further. Where the group of students with the growth mindset believed that everyone can improve their abilities and they work hard for making their grades better. In addition, I still remember the days when I had a hard time on my studies but when I gave more time on my studies and interact with professors, I find myself doing much better. So, I knew that I should give my best effort to be successful.
The growth mindset that can have positive effects on a person's motivation is to accept challenges as an opportunity. Carols Deck states, "Those with a growth mindset sees challenges as things to overcome and views failure as an opportunity for growth and personal development" (2, Deck). For example, when I got my first job, I didn't know how to interact with the customers and provide the services but slowly I learn from my mistake and made a lot of improvements on my service and I feel pretty confident dealing with them know.

So, I think that it is a little bit of challenging for an international student in the United States as comparing to another student but if we work hard nothing is impossible. All we need is dedication and positive attitude. Education plays a vital role in our life. It is important to have a growth mindset because it makes use to accept the challenge and learn from those mistakes. It helps us while making the decision and by working hard it leads towards our goal in life. Many students drop out of college because they don't give time and effort toward their college education. So, I think that is the reason at that end of the day they stop just having a job rather than a professional job.

Work Cited

Carols Dweck, “Brainology.” NAIS, www.nais.org/magazine/independent-school/winter-2008/brainology/. 

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