One of the biggest things I've learned through my three semesters in college so far is to not let my grades in these classes define my college experience. Right now a single grade on Canvas, Sakai, or some other website that your professors thrive off of may seem like the only thing that matters. I promise you in just a couple years these percentages that you've "earned" on each and every miserable exam will mean close to nothing.
Just because a professor says that your grade is what you earn, does not mean that's valid in the slightest. Think about it, you're required to take some classes that you have zero interest in and might be completely irrelevant to your desired major. This means there will most likely be a full night of cram studying with a potential 1 a.m. insomnia delivery, and who knows how much you can learn when you don't have much interest in the subject. Personally, I happen to be a horrible test taker even though I consider myself an extremely hard worker. So after taking a nearly impossible multiple choice exam that's meant to mess with my mind, I know to put aside my professor's comments regarding my "earned" grade. If grades were truly based off of what we earned and how much effort we put into a class, there would be a lot more A's to go around.
Realistically, when you go in for a job interview post graduation, no one is going to ask what you got on the final exam of your nutrition class freshman year, nor ask why you changed your pre-calculus class to pass-fail (clearly because failure was a close possibility). It's the real life skills that matter, and those won't be impacted by the unfortunate grade you receive in some uninteresting 200 person lecture that is a graduation requirement. So rather than beating yourself up over a poor grade or pulling an all-nighter in an attempt to learn 150 science terms, focus on what you can control in the moment. Take classes you actually want to learn about and who knows, this could easily lead to success. And don't forget, college is meant to be the best four years of your life so let yourself enjoy it.
