Driven to Succeed

 If there’s one area where nurture clearly influenced me, it’s in my drive to succeed. I’m the perfectionist in the family, the one who stays up late finishing projects, double-checking work, and chasing excellence. My sister is more easygoing, but for me, the pressure to do well has always been internalized. That drive came from my mom. She constantly pushed me to do better than she did. “Books before boys” wasn’t just a phrase she would constantly mention; it was a philosophy. She praised my efforts, supported my dreams, and reminded me that my future could be brighter than hers if I worked hard enough. According to Bandura’s social learning theory, observers are motivated to imitate behaviors when they perceive those behaviors as likely to result in positive outcomes (McLeod, 2025). In my case, I believe the desire to excel was nurtured into me. I saw how hard my mom worked, how much she sacrificed, and I wanted to make her proud. Her belief in my potential became my fuel. While I might have inherited some natural ambition, it was her consistent encouragement that turned it into purpose.