Coming out of high school, I had more than a little bit of an ego, especially when it came to my classes. I had always been that kid that everyone hated because I never needed to study. Most things seemed to come naturally to me.
Well, let's just say that college is a little bit different from high school.
That right there might be the biggest understatement I have ever made.
I learned very quickly that I could not use the same strategies I had used in high school in college. My second term in college, I had the brilliant idea of trying to take Organic Chemistry and Differential Equations at the same time. That is not a plan I recommend. I was failing both classes at week seven in the term. And these weren't just any classes-- these were classes I needed for my major.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm not great at asking for help. And I needed a lot of help. I was a complete mess.
I ended up dropping Organic Chemistry and dedicating every single hour I had for the next 4 weeks to Differential Equations, and somehow I was able to squeeze out a C- in the class.
By all conventional measures, this was an awful experience. I was an emotional wreck, I cried multiple times because I thought my entire future was gone. My confidence was destroyed. I felt like a shadow of my former self.
What I ended up learning though, is that even when you fail really bad, you keep breathing. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It might be ugly. It might suck while you are in it. But at some point, you will come out the other side and even if it didn't work out, you will get another chance to form your future. It also taught me that overconfidence will beat you up. If you really want to learn, if you really want this whole college thing to be valuable, you need to be humble and open to learning.
The next year, I spent the entire first term sitting in lectures for an Organic Chemistry class I had already taken. Then I had to take the class that almost killed me again. With a better mindset and a better work ethic, I did much better and was back on track for my major. It knocked me down, but it did not knock me out.
