Passage Two
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Choosing who you believe in can change your life.In high school,I wanted to be a social worker like my sister Lynn.I wanted to help people to make a difference in their lives what she was doing .I knew I had work to do because I hadn't really applied maself in high school.But I was looking ahead to my future,and I knew that if I really to do this,I was going to need help.
I made an appointment to see a guidance counselor,Mr.Shaw.He listened to me and then looked back at me in disbelief.“You're not college material,”he said clesrly and deliberately.My heart stopped,frozen in the moment of those icy words.
My parents,however,found a small college whose financial status would permit anyone with a pulse to attend.at the college,Mr.Shaw's resounding words came back to me time and again.I began to believe him,so much so that I was failing tests—even at this college.I gave up and moved home,starting to work part time.Maybe college wasn't for me.But deep down in my heart,I knew I truly wanted to be a social worker,and that would require a college degree.No getting around it.
With all the courage I could pluck up,I enrolled in a community college nearby and took one course in their night school.I was shocked when I received my grade.I got an A.Maybe it was a mistake! I took another course,and I got another A.Things were turning around, and I needed guidance.I made an appointment to see Dr.Sarah Cohen,one of my professors,who gave me a different message.She told me that I was doing very well by all standards.She also said that I was bright and could do anything I put my mind to.I felt empowered and eventually graduated from that college with honors.Then I went on to earn my B.A and M.A in psychology from New York University,the very same degrees Mr.Shaw held. The sentence“I hadn't really applied applied myself in high school”（para.1）means that the author（）.