All throughout my academic career, I have been under the impression that I needed to be perfect. I needed to get straight As, or as close to as possible. Dropping a class or getting a C was unacceptable. And you know, that was great! It was so easy to do that. Then, one semester, it wasn’t.
In college, you’ll test your limit over and over again. You’ll learn how you need to study. You’ll see what kind of classes you thrive in. You’ll (unfortunately) find out the hard way which ones you just can’t seem to get the hang of. Here’s what a lot of us don’t learn: it’s okay to drop a class.
We aren’t failures for dropping a class. No one’s going to think you’re stupid or lazy. No one’s going to be mad at you or hate you. That professor isn’t going to remember you as that one kid that dropped my class. Chances are, they’ve had plenty of students drop their classes. That’s fine! Everyone learns differently.
Now, this isn’t me saying, "Oh, yeah. Just drop it. Who cares?" This is me saying, if you’re so stressed out about one class that it’s affected your other classes, your job, and possibly even mental stability, don’t feel bad about needing to take a step back.
The thing is, what it all boils down to is that your education is first and foremost about you. It isn’t for other people to decide what’s best for you. Sure, they can offer their advice, and recommend certain courses of action, but they don’t have the right to make you feel incompetent for not doing what might have worked for them. Sure, student loans suck, but if you have to take an extra semester, that’s absolute fine. Being a super senior isn’t a bad thing in the land of secondary education. Nowadays, most kids won’t finish their degree in four years anyways. Whether that’s because they needed to drop a class or the school keeps cutting class offerings, that’s for them to know.
Yes, it’s taxing. Yes, it may not be what you expected. It might not even be up to your standards for yourself, but you’re only going to make yourself feel worse, and possibly mess up more than just one semester if you refuse to let yourself see the big picture. Say you don’t drop a class and just absolutely bomb it. Your cumulative GPA may drop 0.1 point below what you need for that scholarship.
There’s nothing worse than being so disappointed in yourself because you knew you could have done better. Trust me, I know. I’ve had great semesters, and I’ve had absolutely terrible ones. However, I know that my worth is not determined by my GPA. It is a reflection of who I am, but it is not me.
So, to everyone who has someone that makes you feel bad about your academic choices, try to remember that you’re doing this for you, not for them.
