I feel like most college students are all too familiar with the pressures of making good grades. "If you don't have a good GPA, you won't get a good job," "If you don't make good grades, you won't get into that program you want to be in," etc. But let me just be the one to tell you, I am a computer science major, and I'm OK with the fact that I didn't make the dean's list during my first semester.

Right after I received my final semester grades, I was somewhat disappointed. I knew I hadn't done well in some classes, but I didn't know that it would bring my grades down that badly. While my grades certainly bad, they weren't what I was used to as a first-semester college student. I feel like many of us are used to making all A's and B's, and when we get to college and discover that A's and B's are sometimes hard to come by, it can be a bit of a shocker.

The worst part for me however, was watching people's parents brag about how their kids had a perfect 4.0 GPA and had made the dean's list seemingly without trying. It's not that I was particularly jealous, because I know that my parents and family will always be proud of me no matter what happens, but it was just the fact that I know I worked hard this semester, and I didn't get to be able to have that honor. Classes like calculus, fundamentals of Java programming, and general chemistry are not easy, and I feel like people don't always think about those things when we talk about making the dean's list.

So yes, I am OK with not making the dean's list, because I know that I am working hard. I am trying to balance my perfect academic life with a social life and personal life. It's not always easy, and it's not always perfect, but it's OK when you aren't perfect. I hope this makes you feel like it's OK if you don't have the 4.0. It's OK if you fail the test. And trust me, it's OK if you don't make the dean's list.