It is about that time in the year where everyone's finals are inputted to blackboard and some have seen their grade drop an entire letter grade or saved (somehow). Some spent countless nights studying for the first time all semester and some just winged it and still managed to pass the class. Some have finals that allow notes or open book, some online, or for most—required to memorize the entire semester.
The thing about grades is that as college students, it could be life or death for getting into that prestige program you have always been dreaming about or graduating college with a decent GPA to get that dream job; either way to get to that point, it is hard. College as a whole is hard but trying to balance your full-time credit hours, all your extracurricular involvements, your demanding job, and your social life is..well college. And as your career choice becomes more demanding as to what they expect from the future employees, you have more you become passionate about to add to your plate and boost that resume. Which in return, adds on the more stress that your body is controlled by.
Here's the catch, every college experiences different things while they are there to complete their degree. Some have internships, some have to complete thousands of papers, some have homework every night, and some just have one or two exams throughout the year. To some it may be easy as their only involvement is their schoolwork, or some may have an "easy" major compared to others, or some might be just experiencing many different things in their life outside of it all that could be distracting their mind, or some might be doing it all. Either way, every college student experiences different experiences while in school.
So, to be posting your grades or GPA all over social media and "expecting no praise" for what might have been an easy semester compared to what others experienced, is just wrong. Yes you may have finally received that GPA you have always wanted but to others, they may have tried their absolute hardest and still came up just too short. So to be posting everywhere for your friends and family to see all your hard work is great and all but it is not being conscious of others and what they may be feeling when they see it. They may have just received their first "F" (or in their book it feels like a fail) and to see how great others around them did, makes them feel like a pile of nothing. They may have just experienced the worst semester of their life for whatever reason it may be and to see all their hard work look like they didn't, is hard.
So, maybe next time before you post about your wonderful GPA or semester, think twice about how others might feel if theirs weren't so wonderful. It's okay to brag here and there but maybe just do it to your family or face to face with others that you know had a similar situation as you. Always keep in mind that there are students that have it harder than you and that you need to be conscious of what they may be feeling at that time. If you did have that amazing semester, congrats! But just because you didn't get a 4.0, doesn't mean you are a pile of nothing either. There is always room for growth and even more adventures to come along to make the next semester better.
