The Right Motivation

“I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle what was expected of me... until I found the Right Motivation. ”

“I’ve stuck through 11 years of Martial Arts, exceeding my own expectations. I had passed the black belt test, the most extreme mental, physical and emotional exertion I had ever experienced - Comparable to the focus, determination and tension of midterms and finals at UCLA”

The Right Motivation

Getting accepted into UCLA stands as one of my single biggest accomplishments, but calling these first few months I've been attending UCLA as challenging is a great understatement.

The classes are fast paced and cover material far exceeding the amount I'm used to. Nearly all of the work falls upon the shoulders of the student, who must take on a great deal of responsibility in order to even be able to compete with the hundreds of other students in the same lecture hall with them. It is rigorous, stressful, time intensive, and sometimes overbearing.

I wasn't sure I could be able to handle what was expected of me... until I found the right motivation. I reminded myself that I've stuck through 11 years of Martial Arts, doing things I thought impossible and exceeding my own expectations. I had passed the black belt test, a process that begins 1 year in advance and took everything I had learned over all my years at Bejanian Martial Arts and concentrated it in one day. It was the most extreme mental, physical and emotional exertion I had ever experienced, comparable to the focus determination and tension of midterms and finals at UCLA. That belt meant more to me than just a rank or degree of skill. That belt shows that I endured weeks of intensive training, mastering both physical and mental conditioning, self-control and discipline in order to pass and receive the title of"black belt." The belt stands as a testimony to what I have done and what I can do, demonstrating the level of my capabilities to overcome both the trials I will experience in school and the trials I will witness in life.

Knowing I had gotten through a test with such extensive training, great circumstances and high degree of requirements, I knew I can take on and even surpass the challenges presented before me by my professors. And with each assigned homework, with each upcoming exam, and with each night spent awake studying, I'm able to look at the future's obstacles and say "Bring it on. I am a black belt."

Khachik Hmayakyan

First Degree Black Belt at Bejanian Martial Arts