Gumption, as defined in the dictionary, is courage and initiative. In Russell Baker's essay "Gumption" the author recalls his first job (which he obtained at age eight) selling The Saturday Evening Post. Baker tells how his mother constantly pressures him to find a job and do something with his life, in fear that he will become a good for nothing. Ultimately after a valiant effort in selling newspaper's Baker decides he does not enjoy that profession and realizes he has a passion for something else, which turns out to be writing. I can relate to Baker's experience because not only do I have a strong passion for writing but I too know the pressures' stemming from high expectations my mother has for me. These expectations, which probably are a result of early academic excellence in my elementary and mid – school days, peaked in high school. High school was a very turbulent time for me, resulting in my dropping out early. Leaving school forced me to decide what exactly I wanted out of life, and after working for awhile I finally decided to come back to college, not only so I could make something of myself, but so I wouldn't let down my mother.
             In elementary school I'd always receive high marks. This in addition to an advanced reading level, (I could read The Scarlet Letter on my own at age five) led my first grade teacher to recommend I be tested for the gifted program. This made my mother very proud that her little boy was possibly going to be in a program that could lead to all sorts of opportunities. Thus the expectations began. Upon testing into the gifted program my workload began to increase. This at first was fine with me, as I'd always enjoyed being challenged. However when I got into middle school things changed. Girls started to look more developed, our social status began to be determined not by how smart we were but by how "cool" we were, and I fell into the m...