A new year and a new semester means that many of us are in the process of figuring out our schedules and setting goals for ourselves for this semester. As usual, when I think about my school life the first goal that comes to mind is to be a good student”. Throughout my education I’ve often heard the phrase “good student whether in connection to myself, as a piece of advice, or just in the general sense. After finishing my first semester in college and beginning a new one, I’ve recently begun to wonder just what a good student is.
In high school I was considered one of the smart kids. What do this really mean? I took all honors and AP classes, got really good at Google searching, learned how to make things up on the spot, and I was passionate about learning. Even so, I had my weaknesses. I’ve never been a good speller despite being an avid reader and writer. Math and I were never very good friends, Algebra II and I might as well be enemies. I was great at memorizing scientific concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics but I never truly understood them. Once I got the A on the test the concepts left my brain for good. Even so, I worked through these weaknesses and ended up with 4s and 5s on all my AP tests and a 3.9 GPA.
Before, college my school life consisted of being at school from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. for classes, clubs, band practices, and musical rehearsal, constantly checking my phone for the latest test grade to be posted, and studying for just 45 minutes right before exams.
After completing my first semester here, I’ve realized that my academic life is so completely different in college than it ever was before. I’m only taking four classes, and I’m only in class about four hours a day but I still have just as much, if not more, work than ever before. Skipping over assigned reading or just skimming the textbook before an exam would not result in the grades that I was accustomed to. Sometimes, there’s so much assigned reading that it’s actually impossible to get it all done. Not practicing my instrument or choral music before each week’s rehearsal, and instead just depending on my fundamentals to get me through was not effective -- in fact it was a death wish.
What seemed to throw me off the most was the fact that I didn’t really have a good idea if I was doing well in each class. Professors didn’t put grades up online like my teachers in high school did. I had a rough idea of what I was getting in each class, but no solid evidence. As a very organized and slightly anxious person this really freaked me out. In order to keep my scholarship I had to keep up a 3.6 GPA. In high school that would have been a cakewalk, but I knew that in college it wasn’t going to be as easy a feat, and the fact that I wasn’t going to know my grade until after my final exams scared me.
This situation was what first led me to question what being a good student meant. I always thought that good student just got straight As and called it a day. When I realized that I probably wasn’t going to get straight As, I panicked. Was I still a good student? Was I ever a good student? Although I was constantly busy I felt as if I wasn’t doing enough. Four classes, two ensembles, and lessons was not enough. I had to compensate in case I was no longer a good student. So, I started writing for the University newspaper and I applied to be an Odyssey staff writer. I was constantly busy, but I was happy. I felt like I was even more a part of school community. This micro crisis led to me reconfigure and redefine what being a good student meant to me. By doing so I became happier with my academic life, stressed less about assignments and grades, focused more on real understanding and learning, and truly became immersed and interested in the subjects of my classes even if they weren’t in my major.
After studying, practicing, and writing papers for two weeks straight I was finished with my exams and packing my bags winter break. Somewhere inside me, I was still anxious about not knowing my final grades for another two weeks, but I decided to put that aside and reward myself with some relaxation for all of my hard work. On Dec. 23 I got my final grades and semester GPA. As I looked at Moodle and saw 3.7 I, initially, was so excited. Not only had I achieved the 3.6 that I needed, but I surpassed it. But, a little piece of me was still disappointed that it wasn’t a 3.8. I thought, I got a 3.8 most of high school I should be able to get it now. My first thought was to put that aside and just be happy for myself. Then I realized that it wasn’t a bad thing to want to push myself to be better, as long as I don’t become obsessed by perfection but rather with progress.
My first semester of college really helped me develop what being a good student meant to me. I realized that I never really had a true idea of what a good student does, or is, especially not a definition of it that was tailored to my personal academic goals and life.
I’ve decided that a good student doesn’t have to get straight As;
maybe a good student doesn’t even have to get a certain GPA. A good student just has to be involved in the living and learning community, open to the discovery of knowledge outside their preferred subjects, and most importantly be passionate about learning. A good student tries their best and strives for progress, not looking for recognition but for that feeling of discovery. Being a good student doesn’t mean anything until you decide what it means to you.
