I’ve been an average student since elementary school. I never excelled in any classes and my work never stood out to teachers. I was also a terrible math and science student. Yeah, I was the kid who took every regent at least twice. All of my friends, however, seemed to be the opposite of me. They took school seriously and found a passion early on.
When college came they all got accepted and knew what they wanted to study. I, on the other hand, had no idea and actually didn’t apply to any schools. My parents convinced me but I was still pretty average. My mom told me things like “C’s get degrees” and “Someone has to be last in the class.” While those don’t exactly sound encouraging, it was comforting to hear that when I get C’s my mom doesn’t get upset because she knows I tried my best.
I’ve never put pressure on myself for grades because I always felt like it was an inadequate way to measure someone's knowledge. Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you measure a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” In a society that relies so heavily on grades, it is easy to feel defeated with a bad test grade. There is so much pressure to do well.
We’re told from an early age that in order to go to college we need to have good grades and we need to do well in college so that we can have a successful career. But just because you aren't a good student doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. Former President George W. Bush was an average student. Many important and intelligent people didn’t even finish school or go at all. Intelligence is subjective. Just because someone may not be good in traditional school subjects doesn’t mean they aren’t smart. We shouldn’t be defined by grades. There are so many other things make up a person other than their grades. Sure it helps a little but in the real world a person's GPA has little to no effect.
“Your grades, whatever is your GPA, rapidly becomes irrelevant in your life. I cannot begin to impress upon you how irrelevant it becomes. Because in life they aren’t going to ask you your GPA… If a GPA means anything, it’s what you were in that moment and it so does not define you for the rest of your life.” This was said by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. It’s almost hard to believe that something that meant so much to you for so many years means absolutely nothing after graduation.
It’s okay if you didn’t get the A that you were aiming for or even if you failed a class. It doesn’t make you any less smart. Sometimes college gets the best of us. You may not be book smart but there are so many other options. Sure your GPA may help you get your first job but after that you probably won’t remember what your GPA was.
It’s easy to feel like it’s the end of the world when you don’t do well in a class. But it’s important to breathe and remember that in a few years this won’t matter. While your grades are important, it doesn’t define you.
