I had a really bad semester in the spring of 2016, like barely passing bad. And why? Was it because I didn't try? Was it because I didn't care? Nope. I was sick with cold after cold from January to the end of April, but even into May the effects remained. I tore cartilage in between my ribs which took a while to heal. Because I was so sick, going to class was hard, doing homework was hard, all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.

But that's not the point.

The point is that I don't have a perfect grade.

I messed up in another class which affected my grade drastically that semester. But you know what? That is okay, too.

I have been ripping myself up for the drop in my GPA. I have been questioning "what if I did that differently, would I have gotten a better grade?" The questions have been constant.

But the truth is that I had a bad semester. And that's okay. And if my GPA never goes back up, who cares? I sure don't. If anyone tries to tell me I should care, I'll leave them behind. Yes, I want to do good in college, yes, I want to succeed. But succeeding does not mean a 4.0 GPA is stamped on my transcript. Succeeding is so much more.

Succeeding is being proud of yourself for the things you have done. I beat myself up for a while when I should have been thinking "I still got an A in one of those classes." I barely made it to class, I cried a lot, I was in pain, and yet I passed all of my classes, I got better. I did so much more during those few months as well.

So what if I don't have a good GPA?

I'm no longer going to revolve my life around my GPA.

I'm just going to do my best and live a little along the way.