Since coming to UCLA I’ve definitely noticed the intense competition constantly going on. Everyone wants to be the best, get the best grades, and I get that. Of course, we want to be the best we can and the absolute best version of ourselves, but at what price?
This is not to bash people about complaining about an A- because I too, can be that person. Just this week I almost went to a two-hour guest lecture to get an extra 0.24 point in a class to make up for missed attendance. Yeah, you read that right. A quarter of a point.
With the help of my mother, I realized it ultimately wasn't worth it during this busy time of the quarter.
So what, you might get an A- and not an A. You’re not perfect, nobody is perfect. Your life will go on. All of your hopes and dreams are not going to be ruined by an A-. Y’all know that if you were a straight A- student you would still graduate with Latin honors because your GPA would be a 3.7 right?
On more than one occasion I’ve heard students around campus bashing their friends or themselves over a 92. A 90 freaking 2. It's not going to matter to any real-world career whether you had a 92 or a 93 in a few of your classes. It really isn't a big deal so stop losing sleep over it and stop making people feel like they somehow failed because of an A-.
We’re inclined to feel like if we get anything other than a 4.0 we’re failures. The problem is we don't take the time to praise ourselves for doing a good job or reminding ourselves that we did our absolute best and should be proud of ourselves.
Speaking on behalf of those at UCLA, we're at an incredible school and just being able to attend is a blessing. Graduating from this university is a major accomplishment and we should spend time enjoying everything it has to offer while we're here, instead of losing sleep and stressing out over 1 point. Just remember, in the grand scheme of things, everything will be ok.